Houston Astros vs Boston Red Sox Box Score on Oct 08, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Oct 8, 2017

BOSTON -- The Boston Red Sox staved off elimination with a 10-3 win against the Houston Astros in Game 3 of their American League Division Series on Sunday at Fenway Park.

Rafael Devers hit a go-ahead two-run home run, the first of the 20-year-old's postseason career, in the third inning to give the Red Sox a 4-3 lead, their first of the series.

Devers, who finished with three RBIs, became the youngest Red Sox player ever (20 years, 349 days) to hit a home run in a playoff game and just the sixth player in major league history to homer in the postseason before turning 21.

Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a three-run homer, also his first career playoff blast, while Hanley Ramirez went 4-for-4 with three RBIs and Sandy Leon drove in another run for the Red Sox.

Boston received four shutout innings of relief and four strikeouts from David Price to keep them in front in a close game early on. Joe Kelly (1-0) earned the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of starter Doug Fister.

Carlos Correa hit a two-run homer, his second of the series, and Josh Reddick added an RBI for the Astros.

Houston, which won both Game 1 and 2 by a score of 8-2, leads the best-of-five series 2-1. Game 4 is Monday afternoon in Boston.

The winner of the Astros-Red Sox series will face either the Cleveland Indians or New York Yankees in the AL Championship Series. Cleveland led its series with New York 2-0 entering Sunday night's Game 3.

Fister was pulled after giving up three runs in 1 1/3 innings, marking the shortest postseason outing for a Red Sox starter since Bret Saberhagen (one inning) on Oct. 11, 1999.

Fister allowed four hits, walked one and struck out one.

In the series, Boston's starting rotation of Chris Sale, Drew Pomeranz and Fister has allowed a combined 14 runs over 8 1/3 innings for a 15.12 ERA.

Houston starter Brad Peacock departed after 2 2/3 innings having allowed three runs on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts in his first career postseason appearance.

Astros reliever Francisco Liriano (0-1) gave up the go-ahead homer to Devers and took the loss.

Houston enjoyed another fast start against a shaky Fister, scoring three runs in the first inning.

Reddick's RBI single two batters into the game opened the scoring and was followed by Correa's blast of approximately 385 feet to center field the next at-bat to make it 3-0.

Fister's first-inning ERA in his starts this season ballooned to 10.13.

Boston got one run back on Leon's single with the bases loaded and nobody out in the second, but Peacock retired the next three batters to escape the jam.

The Astros' 3-1 lead after two innings made them the first team in major league history to hold a lead for the first 20 innings of any postseason series.

Ramirez brought the Red Sox within a run on his two-out RBI single before Devers delivered his homer of an estimated 430 feet over the bullpens in right-center to put Boston ahead.

A bases-loaded single with nobody out in the seventh by Ramirez and a bloop RBI single from Devers the next at-bat put Boston ahead 7-3.

Bradley smacked his homer to right two batters later to make it 10-3. Houston right fielder Reddick got the ball in his glove up against the right-field wall, but it bounced out into the stands.

NOTES: Boston RF Mookie Betts was back in the lineup and batting cleanup after leaving Game 2 Friday in the eighth inning with a left wrist flare up. ... Houston RF and left-handed hitter Josh Reddick hit out of the two-hole against RHP Doug Fister and OF Carlos Beltran started at DH. "I love having Reddick in between (George) Springer and (Jose) Altuve with a right-handed starter," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. ... Red Sox manager John Farrell dispelled rumors about his job security should the team lose back-to-back AL Division Series. "(The media) reminds me how often it comes up, but, it hasn't changed my approach with our guys at all," Farrell said. ... Security personnel roamed the upper-deck roofs at Fenway Park throughout the game amid heightened safety concerns after reports that the Las Vegas mass shooter had considered Fenway as a potential target.