Red Sox in ALCS driver’s seat as hit parade continues at Fenway

The Boston Red Sox are cruising in the ALCS following their 12-3 win over the Houston Astros on Monday night.

After dropping Game 1 of the American League Championship Series to the Houston Astros, the Boston Red Sox have been rolling ever since. If you thought their 9-5 win in Game 2 on Saturday night was huge, that had nothing on Boston’s performance in Game 3.

On Monday night, the Red Sox beat the Astros 12-3 to take a 2-1 lead in the ALCS. Boston have capitalized on Houston’s weakness in this series — their pitching. And now, they carry the momentum for the remainder of semifinals, as they look to clinch a World Series berth for the first time since 2018.

Red Sox crush Astros early, take 2-1 ALCS lead with Game 3 victory

The Red Sox got to the Astros in the bottom of the second inning, as they took a 2-0 lead after an RBI single by catcher Christian Vazquez and Christian Arroyo reaching on a fielding error by Astros second baseman Jose Altuve. But with the bases loaded, first baseman and trade deadline acquisition Kyle Schwarber mashed a grand slam to right field to extend their lead to 6-0.

Schwarber joined teammates J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers joined Boston’s ALCS grand slam club. As it turns out, that was the first of four home runs hit by Boston on Monday night.

Arroyo hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning, Martinez knocked in two runs on his homer in the sixth and the third baseman hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to clinch the 12-3 win.

The Astros were in a massive disadvantage entering the ALCS with Lance McCullers Jr. left off the roster due to a right forearm injury. Things only got worse after Luis Garcia left Game 2 with a right knee strain. Houston thus called upon Jose Urquidy to get the start on Monday night.

Urquidy was removed from the game in the second inning after surrendering five earned runs on five hits in 1.2 innings of work.

With the team now down in the ALCS, the Astros will call upon Zack Greinke to get the start on Tuesday night. Greinke had not started in a game since Sept. against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Astros will need to bank on Greinke to silence Boston’s bats, and even that seems to be a challenging task.

Entering Game 4, it certainly feels as though it will be a matter of when, not if, the Red Sox advance to the World Series. But, the Astros can change that with a victory on Tuesday night.