Boston, Oct. 21 (BUS): Framber Valdez lost his perfect match in the fifth inning and then rebounded in the next inning off the batsman.
Astros manager Dusty Baker headed to the pile.
“It was more of a surprise than anything else,” Valdez said, noting that a manager’s visit usually meant his night was over. “The first thing I did was look back to see if there was anyone there. I didn’t see anyone who was there.
“He just came out and told me… ‘You know what you’re doing here, so just breathe,'” Valdez said.
And much more.
The Houston left-back had an excellent four-goal performance, earning two goals in the seventh inning and becoming the first post-season bowler to complete eight rounds, leading the Astros over Boston 9-1 on Wednesday to advance 3-2 in the AL Championship. Series.
Yordan Alvarez made three hits and three RBIs for Houston, which could clinch a second trip to the world championship in three years with a home win on Friday night, AP reports.
The Red Sox need a win to force the crucial seventh game on Saturday.
“We went back to Boston where we wanted to be: we were 1-1,” said Chris Sall, Red Sox writer. “Not in a good place to go back to Houston. There’s no denying it, but this team has won two qualifiers in a row before, and we think we can do it again.”
One day after the Astros scored seven games to break the tie in the ninth inning, they pinned another crooked number to the Fenway Park scoreboard, Chasing Sale while he scored five runs in the sixth inning. Alvarez, who finished second and won fourth, scored twice to break things up.
That was plenty for Valdez, who extended the action’s closing streak to 14 straight runs before Rafael Devers sparkled by one in the seventh inning — one of only three Boston hits.
Valdez left after retiring from the Red Sox in eighth place — completing three full laps through the Boston lineup, a dramatic break from prevailing baseball wisdom.
“It makes me feel great” to show that beginners can still have that kind of influence on the game, Becker said.
“Today, it was in Framber’s hand,” he said. “That was in Framber’s hands, and really in Alvarez’s hands.”
In all, Valdez gave up the three-hit run, the walk-and-hit one hit, and the five-hit. He was also the first opposing player to reach the last eight innings in the postseason at Fenway since Charles Nagy of Cleveland went eighth in the 1998 Division Series.
Ryne Stanek made a perfect ninth while the rest of Houston’s loyalists rested. The Astros didn’t last three rounds in all of the series, reaching 18.90 ERAs in their first four games and conceding 10 homeowners—including three majors.
Valdez wasn’t much better, allowing 2 earned rounds in 2 2/3 of the rounds in Game 1.
“I was not discouraged at all,” Valdes said. “I worked out all the time and had my mindset that I would just go out and have a better outing. And that’s what I was able to do tonight.”
Valdez retired his first 12 players on Wednesday – eight on strikeouts and four on strikeouts. Devers pulled away in the fifth inning, then Valdes bounced back down the next pitch from JD Martinez’s leg. The Astros survived when Hunter Renfrew went into a double game and Alex Verdugo rebounded to first.
“Everyone knew there was no hitter, and then they got hit, and then the hitter hits,” Becker said. “This is the time when you have to really calm down and pull the air out of the ball, because the fans were about to get in. He threw a double pitch and then got back to dealing again.”
He also started selling almost as well, allowing only two hits—both for Alvarez—in his first five rounds. But Jose Altov walked to start sixth, then Michael Brantley scored a goal for third. Devers sent it and did the throw just in time but Schwarber dropped it initially; After slipping into second, Altuve appeared and raced for third, which was revealed.
Brantley advanced for second in a match against the bowler, then doubled Alvarez to the left, scoring twice to make it 3-0 and chasing Seal. Ryan Brazier hit Carlos Correa before giving up the RBI double in front of Yuli Gurriel and a single from two rounds to Jose Seri making the score 6-0.
Brantley added an RBI single at number seven, and Gurriel singles at number nine.
Selling was assigned four runs—two got three hits and two runs, and hit seven in 5 1/3 innings.
“I was good for five and then it sucked for one,” he said. “I said to myself on entering this game I had work to do; it obviously wasn’t done. But I left (everything) there on that hill tonight, that’s for sure.”
The Red Sox won seven consecutive home postseason games — dating back to the 2018 ALCS — before taking the lead in the eighth inning on Tuesday night. They have never lost consecutive post-season games under coach Alex Cora.
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Nathan Evaldi, who won Game Two but came into relief and lost Game Four, will start Friday with Boston. Baker said he hasn’t made a decision on a start.