José Altuve tied the score with a home run in the eighth inning for the Houston Astros, who woke up with seven runs in the ninth to beat the Boston Red Sox 9-2 on Tuesday night and equal two wins per side in the Championship Series. of the American League.
The Astros were six outs from falling 3-1 in the best series in a maximum of seven games. Under those circumstances, they would have had to risk their lives during a fifth game at Fenway Park, where Boston had not lost the entire postseason.
But the West Division champions reacted and are now guaranteed a return to Houston.
“Now it’s a series of three games, including two at home,” said Altuve.
In a series that had been dominated by batting – particularly Boston’s – the two teams hit home runs in the first inning. Then the pitching bodies hung six consecutive zeros at Fenway.
The blow from the Venezuelan Altuve changed the narrative in the first turn of the eighth inning.
Carlos Correa doubled and scored the lead run with a single off Jason Castro with two outs in the ninth inning. But Houston was just getting started.
Boston had rocked Houston’s pitchers with 10 home runs in the series, including three grand slams that set a record and bulged the scoreboard in the second and third games.
“This is what they’ve done to us throughout the series,” manager Dusty Baker said. “But we are also capable of doing it.”
Alex Bregman hit a solo home run over the Green Monster in the first inning. Xander Bogaerts landed a monumental two-run club in the bottom of the episode, sending the ball into Landsdowne Street for Boston to take the 2-1 lead.
Then the pitchers took over. The score remained the same as Altuve opened the eighth by hitting his home run off Garrett Whitlock.
Nathan Eovaldi, who had won Game 2, served his first relief since 2019, when he recovered from injury. He appeared in the ninth chapter and immediately accepted a double from Correa.
With two outs and two on board, Castro pushed Correa off with a single that gave Houston the lead.
And the Astros didn’t get tired of scoring.
Michael Brantley hit a three-run double off Martin Perez. Yordan Alvarez added an RBI single. Kyle Tucker hit one more with another single. (AP)