Red Sox talk it out beforehand, then outplay Astros to extend series

The comeback on the scoreboard didn’t start until the second inning. In the third, it went full throttle.

But really, if you’re looking where this – this 10-3 pasting of the Astros to extend the series to Monday’s Game 4 – came from, where it really began, you have to start well before the game.

In the clubhouse, and then, in the dugout, is where the Red Sox started to find themselves. That's where they began a path toward digging out of the crater they had created for themselves in Games 1 and 2.

It was part team meeting, part exorcism, part call-to-arms. The idea was wipe out the bitter taste remaining from the first two drubbings in Houston and focus on the present.

“We’ve been in the playoffs a lot around here,’’ Jackie Bradley Jr., told BostonSportsJournal.com and whose three-run homer in the seventh effectively sealed the win. “But you can’t think that it’s going to happen every year. And when you’re here, you have to do something with (the opportunity). So there was a lot of chatter before the game, with guys expressing their feelings, getting some stuff of their chest.

“We, as players and teammates, talked amongst ourselves for a team meeting. The gist of it was, ‘Yeah, we’ve got a tough road ahead of us, but we’re ready to take on that challenge. We’re ready to prove it’s not over. Is it going to be hard? Yes. Are we up for the challenge? Absolutely.’ That was pretty much the gist.’’

And in this post-David Ortiz era, Bradley was asked, who spoke the most or the loudest?

Bradley considered the question for several seconds, then allowed a small smile to cross his face.

“Quite a few,’’ he said.

Maybe it was pride more than anything else. It’s not a stretch to suggest the Sox had been humiliated in Houston. They were outscored 16-4, without ever being so much as tied at the end of a full inning in the two games.

It sure looked like they were about to repeat the embarrassment of a year ago when they went down in three straight to Cleveland. Surely, they didn’t want that again. Surely, they didn’t want to trudge off their home field after playing just one post-season game at Fenway.

So, they made sure of it.

“We had to battle, because this is all we’ve got,’’ said Mookie Betts, summarizing the team’s plight.

Of course, it took a little time. For the third straight game in the series, the Astros managed multiple runs in their first at-bat, and for the third straight time in the series, managed a first-inning home run. They led 3-0 after four hitters and the home fans, desperate for something positive for which to cheer, unleashed their frustration with a chorus of boos that hung over Fenway like threatening rain clouds.

But the game – and, who knows, maybe the series – started to turn in the second. First, Betts raced to the right of the visitor’s bullpen, laid out his glove just over the low fence in right and made a basket catch of what was otherwise going to be a three-run homer for Josh Reddick.

“That’s definitely a game-saver,’’ said Bradley of Betts’s heroics. “That would have been a three-run homer, and now we’re down 6-0. You start doing the numbers, the percentages in coming back from a 6-0 game are a lot less than a 3-0 game.’’

From there, the Sox seemed to sense an opening. They loaded the bases with no out in the bottom of the inning, and though they only got a run out of it, were on their way.

In third, a run-scoring single from Hanley Ramirez (four hits, three RBI) brought them back to within a run. Then, a titanic shot over the Red Sox bullpen by Rafael Devers gave them both their first homer of the series, and their first lead.

“He’s an extremely talented kid,’’ said John Farrell of Devers. “I think we marvel at the fact that he’s 20 years of age. He’s into this environment, came into this setting, this market, and has performed fantastic. Probably better than we anticipated. But the timing of (that homer) is a big swing.’’

In addition to giving the Sox a lead they wouldn’t give up, the homer energized the crowd. Ramirez had implored fans on Saturday to make Fenway loud and raucous so the Sox could enjoy a true home field advantage.

“They responded,’’ said Farrell of Ramirez’s plea, “and he responded."

From there, the Sox took off offensively, pouring it on with six more in the seventh.

“We’re a streaky team,’’ said Andrew Benintendi. “Once things start rolling a little bit, it seems like everybody starts getting involved.’’

Including in the clubhouse, before the game, where the comeback plan was first hatched.