While pitching is important, Red Sox lineup may hold key to ALDS

HOUSTON – The last week has been dominated, as is frequently the case in baseball’s post-season, by talk about pitching.

What to expect from Chris Sale? Who will start Game 3? How about Game 4? What will David Price contribute?

These are all valid questions, of course, in light of the Houston Astros’ standing as the top offensive team in the American League. For the Red Sox to advance to the ALCS, their pitching will have to neutralize Houston’s lineup.

But the key to the Red Sox post-season may lie with their lineup, first and foremost. The team’s 3.70 ERA was the second lowest in the American League this season and a case could be made that the Sox boast both the most dominant starter (Sale) and the most dominant closer (Craig Kimbrel) of any team involved in the American League post-season field.

A year ago, the Sox got poor pitching performances from their top two starters, Rick Porcello and David Price, helping to doom them in their ALDS matchup with the Cleveland Indians.

But the argument could be made that that series was lost every bit as much because of their offensive failings than pitching issues.

The Sox hit just .214 as a team and had only seven RBI in the three-game sweep. Brock Holt was their leading hitter. All three of their homers were solo shots. And the Sox got no run production from Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts or Jackie Bradley Jr.

That’s not any way to win a post-season series.

And here’s something ominous: the sputtering bats came after a regular season in which the Red Sox easily led the majors in runs scored in 2016. This year, the Sox finished sixth in the American League with about 100 runs fewer than last year’s team.

“Maybe we’ll do the reverse this year,’’ said hitting coach Chili Davis with a chuckle. “We didn’t lead the league in offense this year.  But I think we played pretty well up to this point. We had some intense games with Houston the last four games, and even with Toronto. And that followed a really good road trip.

“I just think the boys, after what they went through last year, they understand a little more about what it’s going to take to win these ballgames. Last year, we went into the Cleveland series and right before we went in, we weren’t really swinging the bats as well, even though we had all year. I think we put a little pressure on ourselves to do a little more than we can.

“I think this year, we realize this is a little more of a team situation.’’

Davis believes the young core – Andrew Benintendi, Betts, Bogaerts, Bradley – will be better off having been exposed the pressures of the playoffs last fall.

“I hope they’re much better prepared, now that they had a taste of it last year,’’ he said. “We went into Cleveland, playing a really hot team, a hot pitching staff. They tried to do a little much. Last year, was David (Ortiz’s) last year and the history with him was that he could take over a playoff series. That didn’t happen for us.’’

The Sox finished dead last in the league in homers this season, and Davis wants to make sure that the Red Sox don’t try to change their identity now that the post-season is here.

“We’ve gotten here this year, doing the little things,’’ he said. “It hasn’t been a power year for us, so for us to go out (Thursday) and try to do things in a power manner, I think we know better than that. Our game is more of an all-around game, so I hope we come out with that in mind.’’