This Red Sox team is proving to have the steel balls it takes to win a championship as they are now a perfect 4-0 on the road in the postseason, and none of those four wins came with their ace – Chris Sale – starting a game. Sale won’t be pitching in Game 5 tonight either, but given the way the Sox are playing it might not matter.
Incredibly, Boston is just one win away from advancing to the World Series despite having gone down 0-1 to start the ALCS against Houston. The Sox toppled the reigning World Series champs, 8-6, in Game 4 Wednesday night.
All anyone could talk about after Game 4 was a controversial play in the first inning in which the Astros’ Jose Altuve had a would-be, two-run home run called back. Mookie Betts was closing in on making a spectacular catch when – he says – a fan in the stands pushed and closed his glove. The umpiring crew agreed with Betts after watching replays for what seemed like a week. They play all depended on whether or not Betts was still in the field of play. If his glove extended into the stands, then the fan had the right to reach for the baseball. Here is the play.
#Postseason craziness in Houston … pic.twitter.com/ldNRUR22XN
— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2018
In a series that began with Red Sox fans not wanting to see much of David Price, the lefty will now become a focal point of the series as he will start Game 5 on short rest Thursday in Houston. Price did just enough to help push the Red Sox to victory in Game 2 at Fenway on Sunday, working 4.2 innings while giving up four runs on five hits. Price struck out four while walking four in his 80 pitch outing. No doubt, he will be on a short leash in Game 5.
As for Sale, Red Sox manager Alex Cora expects him to start Game 6 if needed.
“[Sale] still feels weak,” Cora said of his ace. “He lost some weight. I know that’s hard to believe but yeah, he did. He didn’t throw a bullpen [Wednesday]. He’s feeling better compared to [Tuesday] but physically he’s not there yet. So I think if necessary, he’ll pitch Game 6 [on Saturday]. He feels that he’ll be ready for that one and we’ll go from there.”
