Final: Astros 8, Red Sox 2

The Red Sox lost a player to injury in the second at-bat of the game.

Then, it went downhill from there.

In his post-season debut, Chris Sale was rocked for seven runs in five-plus innings as the Red Sox were pummeled by the Houston Astros 8-2 in Game 1 of the ALDS. Jose Altuve blasted three homers, becoming just the ninth player in baseball history to achieve that feat in a post-season game.

Sale was tagged for back-to-back homers in the first as the Sox trailed 2-0 early. They rallied for a one off Astros starter Justin Verlander in the second and another in the fourth to tie it.

But the Astros answered quickly with two more off Sale in the bottom of the fourth, then never looked back. They managed another off him in the fifth and put the first two runners on in the sixth. Joe Kelly then allowed both inherited baserunners to score.

Designated hitter Eduardo Nunez, who had been battling a right knee injury, swung at the second pitch he saw in the first inning and chopped it to third. But two steps out of the box, he began limping before collapsing on the ground some 10 feet from the first base bag. He had to be carried off the field.
GAME NO.: ALDS Game 1
WHO: Red Sox (93-69) vs Houston Astros (101-61)
WHEN:  4:08 EST
WHERE:  Minute Maid Park
RADIO: WEEI (93.7 FM)
TV: MLB Network
PITCHERS:  LHP Chris Sale (17-8, 2.90) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (15-8, 3.36)

BOX SCORE:     MLB Gameday

 

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

• Late in the game, with the Sox trailing by six and just trying to get this over with, here's Rick Porcello to mop up in the eighth. The same Rick Porcello that won the Cy Young Award a season ago.


• It would seem that that little second baseman can play a bit.


• Justin Verlander has been lifted after six innings. He allowed six hits and two runs over six innings, and clearly outpitched Sale. But Verlander didn't overpower the Sox. He struck out just three in six innings and they made him work at times, with 99 pitches in six innings. The issue was a familiar one for the Red Sox offense: they couldn't come up with the big hit at the right time. They stranded a runner in scoring position in the third and left two on base in the fourth.


• Chris Sale is back out for the sixth, which, frankly, doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. The Sox are trailing by three and he's at 89 pitches. I'm not suggesting the Sox can't come back -- they did once earlier in the game against Verlander. But this would seem to be the time to save some bullets.


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  • Hanley has been extra aggressive in his two at-bats, hunting fastballs. Drove one to left for a double in his first at-bat in the third, and was on top of another here for a one-out single.
  
  
  • One of the strengths of the Astros is the length and depth of their lineup. That showed up in the fourth when Marwin Gonzalez, Houston's No. 8 hitter, got a 97 mph fastball from Sale and drilled it to the right-center gap for two huge runs, giving the Astros their second two-run lead.
  
  
  
  

.@marwinGF9 drives in 2! The @Astros lead the @RedSox 4-2 in Game 1. #ALDS #Postseason pic.twitter.com/gVawXmLDmJ

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 5, 2017

• Couple of interesting outfield plays here in the bottom of the fourth. First, it looked like Andrew Benintendi didn't get much on the throw to second when Evan Gattis lined a ball off the wall in left. Gattis is a slow runner and it seemed like a better throw could have cut him down trying to stretch. Then, Jackie Bradley Jr. went all out to try to catch a sinking liner from Josh Reddick and though a replay challenge showed he trapped the ball, the fact that he nearly caught it forced Gattis to stay on second.


• After wonder about what Justin Verlander was doing in that at-bat with Devers. The first six pitches he threw to the rookie were fastballs up in the zone and Devers either swung-and-missed or fouled them off. Then, Verlander threw a slider in the middle of the zone, and while Devers didn't come close to getting all of it, he hit it will enough to right field to score Mookie Betts from third with a sacrifice fly.


• Things seem to have settled down a bit for the Red Sox after a horrendous start to the afternoon. Chris Sale got through the third inning on just nine pitches -- even though one was hit off his body for an infield single by Alex Bregman.  An inning-ending double play made for an efficient inning and got the Sox back into the dugout quickly.


• Have to wonder if there isn't a little extra motivation for Hanley Ramirez. He was left out of the Game 1 lineup in favor of Nunez, and that couldn't have made him happy. But in his first at-bat -- after Nunez went down in a heap, aggravating his right knee again -- Ramirez pulled a double into the left field corner. Will be interesting to watch this. Hanley seems to enjoy proving people wrong about things.


• Chris Sale's slider looked flat in the first inning. Looked like at least one of those homers was hit off a bad one that hung. In the second inning, however, Sale seemed to get some break and depth on the pitch, getting Marwin Gonzalez to chase one for a swinging strike three, then getting ahead with one against the next hitter, Brian McCann. Sale's velocity, meanwhile, isn't an issue. On the swinging third strike to McCann for the third out, his fastball was 99 mph.


• For a few minutes there, it looked like the Red Sox had run themselves out of a run. Sandy Leon singled to center and Mitch Moreland crossed the plate, but Dustin Pedroia was thrown out at third on a throw from center and the call on the field was that the out was recorded before Moreland scored. But the Sox challenged and remarkably, got the call over-turned. It's the first positive thing that's happened to them today.

Think he scored. #RedSox pic.twitter.com/cjayVmCD5q

— Max Wildstein (@MaxWildstein) October 5, 2017

• There's been a pattern to this off-season: top starters getting shelled early. Both Luis Severino and Ervin Santana had it happen to them in the Wild Card game Tuesday and so did Colorado's Jon Gray Wednesday in the N.L. wild card. Each one allowed multiple runs in the first inning. Now, Chris Sale joins the club, allowing two solo homers in the first today.


• Could this post-season be off to a worse start for the Red Sox? Hard to imagine. First, Eduardo Nunez goes down in a heap, and then Chris Sale, making his first playoff starts, gives up back-to-back solo homers within the first three hitters of the game. It's quickly 2-0 Houston, and things are collapsing for the Red Sox. The home run ball had been an issue for Sale in September, and two mistake pitches were hit very far by Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve.


• It didn't take long for the first bad break to go against the Red Sox. On the first pitch he saw in the post-season, Eduardo Nunez hit a chopper to third, and within two steps out of the box, was limping badly. He never reached the first base bag, collapsing on the ground about 10 feet shy of first. He was then carried off the field by manager John Farrell and a member of the training staff. Nunez has played just one game in the last three weeks, slowed by a strain of the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. After some workouts at Fenway and the use of a stronger knee brace, the Sox believed he was ready to go. It took one pitch to show otherwise.

I'm no doctor, but I'd have to classify Eduardo Núñez's injury as "no bueno." #WinAdvanceRepeat #RedSox #Postseason pic.twitter.com/Ab8TFgg7lx

— Josh Sánchez (@jnsanchez) October 5, 2017

• Seems logical that Hanley Ramirez will take over as DH today, but the question is, who takes Nunez's roster spot tomorrow. Teams are allowed to replace injured players during a series, with the provision that the player is ineligible for the next series, too. (In this case, that hardly matters: it's clear that Nunez is done for the year). Chris Young, who was left off today's roster, likely will replace him for Game 2. And with lefty Dallas Keuchel starting for Houston and Ramirez already set to play first, it could be that Young goes from being left on the roster altogether to being the starting DH in Game 2.

• After broadly hinting earlier in the week that Hanley Ramirez would be his DH choice in Game 1, John Farrell instead went with Eduardo Nunez as his DH for Thursday. Part of it is Nunez's past success against Houston starter Justin Verlander (6-for-18 with a homer and three RBI). The plan calls for Ramirez to play first base in Game 2 against lefty Dallas Keuchel.


• Farrell is undecided about his third baseman for Game 2 against Keuchel, with Rafael Devers, Nunez and Deven Marrero all in play.


• Farrell added that the Sox will likely replace Devers when they're ahead with Marrero coming off the bench for defensive purposes.