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BOSTON – David Price did not win this first elusive playoff victory. But without wishing to offend the southpaw, it was not the top priority of the Red Sox Sunday night.
That avoided a 0-2 deficit by coming back to Houston in this series of American League championships, and the Red Sox reached their goal with a 7-5 win over the Astros. The third game of the best-of-seven series will take place Tuesday at Minute Maid Park.
"Tonight was a great game," said Matt Barnes, who raised Price with two on the fifth and fifth and eliminated Marwin Gonzalez. "Back to Houston 2-0 [would have been] tough. The fact that we can even get out and take the momentum with us is really great. "
The close Craig Kimbrel has made the Red Sox Nation nervous again – as it did in the fourth Division Division game against the Yankees – allowing a ninth inning on José Altuve's double. Alex Bregman sent a thrill into Fenway Park with a fly high on the left alert trail that Andrew Benintendi caught up in front of the green monster, assuring Kimbrel a fragile rescue.
"I'm tired of giving up shopping," he says with a smile. "But it's good to win."
Price, 0-9 in 10 sets since the start of the season with an ERA of 6.03, was far from electric when another cool night at Fenway. But he did not eliminate his team from the match in the beginning, as he did in the second game of ALDS against the Yankees, while it lasted 1 2/3 innings. This time, Price allowed four runs, five hits and four walks in four innings and two-thirds.
Price walked two to the fifth. With two outs and Gonzalez – whose two-point circuit in the third gave Houston a 4-2 lead – to the poster, Alex Cora called Barnes. The right-hander has eliminated Gonzalez on four grounds to end the threat, the beginning of a good evening in a better than expected playoff pen (with the exception of Kimbrel).
"They have good arms there," said Astros manager A.J. Dit Hinch. "It's just a question they execute.
Barnes scored one-third without a run, Ryan Brasier added a scoreless run, as did Rick Porcello, a runaway that Cora called for a run, as he did in the ALDS.
The Red Sox took a 5-4 lead in third on Jackie Bradley Jr.'s three-pointer over Gerrit Cole, a stolen ball that hit the monster.
They added one point to the seventh walk over Lance McCullers Jr., a wild throw and two balls to score 6-4. Mookie Betts' RBI double in the eighth brought the score to 7-4.
Cole had just played a second ALDS game against the Indians in which he gave a point in seven innings and withdrew twelve points. The right-hander has recovered well after doubling the Bradley doubled, removing the last 10 finalists.
"The line will indicate a little more difficult [night] that he launched, "Hinch said. "I thought he'd found it at the end."
Betts led the first with a double and scored on Benintendi's single. Xander Bogaerts followed with a spinner to Cole, who shot wildly to first base for a mistake. Steve Pearce had four runs to charge the bases of Rafael Devers, whose left-hand single scored 2-0.
George Springer, last year's World Series Most Valuable Player, made a quick pass to the right of the field for a brace in the second run that tied the score at 2.
The Gonzalez circuit temporarily calmed the fans. They quickly took over with Bradley's double and stayed in that position for the rest of the rebound evening for Boston.
"We went really well," said Betts. "And we went out and did our thing today."
Notes and quotes: Chris Sale, who started the first game, was admitted to the Massachusetts General Hospital Sunday afternoon after announcing a "stomach illness," the Red Sox announced. They said the sale would be kept overnight for evaluation. . . Bregman walked three times, giving him 10 points in five playoff games. . . Gonzalez has played 14 consecutive playoff games with a home run for Houston, beating the Astron record of 13 in 2001-03.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered sports in high school and college before moving on to the rhythm of the Jets. It covers the Yankees since 2009.
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