After Sale and Pomeranz stumble, Red Sox turn to Fister to extend their season

Only a few months ago, Doug Fister couldn’t have possibly forseen the enormity of his assignment Sunday. For that matter, it’s a safe bet the Red Sox didn’t anticipate it either.

But that’s the reality of where the Red Sox find themselves: with a win-or-go-home assignment as the AL Division Series shifts from Houston to Boston for Game 3 on Sunday.

The same Fister who was pitching for the Los Angeles Angels’ Triple A affiliate as recently as early June is now all that stands between the Red Sox and the off-season.

Boston’s top two starters, twin 17-game winners, Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz, couldn’t get the job done in the first two games at Minute Maid Park. So now, improbably, the Sox turn to a career journeyman, who is now with his fifth organization, to save their season.

The same Doug Fister, that is, who was available to one and all on waivers only a few months back.

“That journey has definitely had some ups and downs and some questionable moments,’’ said a reflective Fister on Saturday. “But I’m certainly blessed to be here now, to be put in a position where I get to be part of this team, it’s a tremendously humbling experience for me.’’

For all the dashed expectations surrounding Sale and Pomeranz, Fister enjoys a solid track record in his past postseason appearances. In fact, since divisional play began in 1969, Fister owns the lowest post-season ERA (1.78) for any starter with a minimum of 50 innings pitched.

Moreover, he’s pitched in potential elimination games before and fared well. He’s been there in the past, but he recognizes that history won’t help him much in Game 3. He’s got to have more success against a potent Houston lineup than his rotation-mates have had, or else the Sox will be done for 2017.

“We’ve been backed into a corner before,’’ said Fister. “It’s nothing that we haven’t been able to overcome. It comes down to execution now. We get to go out there and have some fun and let our experience and our talent work for us.’’While Fister understands what’s at stake – and the repercussions if he doesn’t pitch well – he prefers to take a more positive approach to the mound.

While Fister understands what’s at stake – and the repercussions if he doesn’t pitch well – he prefers to take a more positive approach to the mound.

“We can’t look at it, as ‘Oh, it’s elimination day,’ ‘’ he said. “We look at it as an opportunity to continue. There’s only a handful of teams still continuing now and we still have a life. You can’t look at it as it’s over until it is over.  We still have a lot of life.

“There’s nothing to lose, with everything to lose. You’ve got to go in with that mindset and leave everything on the field tomorrow. We’ve got 27 outs to get and 27 outs to give.’’

It helps that Fister turned in a solid start against Houston only 10 days ago, allowing three runs in 5.1 innings on Sept. 29 at Fenway. That may not sound like a dominant outing, but the Red Sox would gladly take a similar one over the outings they received from Sale and Pomeranz in Houston in Games 1 and 2.

There are no secrets at this time of year. Advance scouting and exhaustive video reviews allow teams to prepare and know what to expect. Fister will focus on throwing his two-seam fastball, mixing in a curve and changeup, and trying to keep the Astros off-balance.

He won’t get nearly the swings-and-misses that Sale might. But if he can keep the ball out of the middle of the plate, resulting in home runs hit (Houston has six in two games), he’ll go a long way toward achieving his goal.

“It comes down to execution,’’ he said. “Everybody knows everything about everybody. It just comes down to who has the ability to go out there and execute. For me as a pitcher, (that means) keeping the ball down in the zone and locate and keep things mixed up.’’

On Sunday, Fister won’t try to do anything new and he won’t treat the opportunity any differently than any other start. That, he believes, has allowed him past success, with his teams going 7-1 in his eight previous post-season starts.

“I’ve been asked before,’’ said Fister, “how you deal with (all the hoopla). For me, I don’t so much try to block it out, but take it in. If I sit there and try to block it all out, it becomes an outside influence. We have to be ready to use the energy and adrenaline (from the crowd)  for the betterment of our side.’’