Red Sox Smoke Yankees 16-1 in Game 3, Holt Hits for Cycle
NEW YORK – The Red Sox bats woke up in a big way as they pushed the Yankees to the brink of elimination with a 16-1 victory in Game 3 of the ALDS Monday night in New York.
Brock Holt became the first player in baseball history to hit for the cycle in a postseason game. Holt completed the feat with a ninth inning home run off Yankees backup catcher Austin Romine, who was pitching in mop-up duty.
Holt went 4-for-6 with five runs batted in after being inserted into the lineup in place of Ian Kinsler.
Boston broke the game open in the fourth, sending 11 men to the plate and scoring seven runs. Andrew Benintendi had a three-run triple as part of the outburst.
The Red Sox chased Yankees starter Luis Severino from the game in the fourth, tagging the righty for six runs on seven hits. Lance Lynn was no better for New York, allowing three runs while recording only one out.
For the Red Sox, Nathan Eovaldi was dominant in his first postseason start, tossing seven strong innings of one-run ball. The righty struck out five and gave up five hits.
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Oct 8, 2018; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (17) pitches in the first inning in game three of the 2018 ALDS playoff baseball series against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Every hitter in the starting lineup for the Red Sox reached base at least once.
How it happened:
The Red Sox opened the scoring in the second inning on two-out infield single by Christian Vazquez. The ball deflected off of Severino’s glove and died in the middle of the infield allowing Rafael Devers to score.
Mookie Betts ripped a single to open the third inning, and took third aggressively on a bloop single by Benintendi. Betts came around to score on a sacrifice fly by J.D. Martinez before Benintendi scored later in the inning.
The Red Sox burst the game open in the fourth, taking advantage of slow hooks by Yankees manager Aaron Boone. Severino loaded the bases with nobody out, culminating his outing with a walk to Jackie Bradley Jr.
Lynn walked Betts on four pitches before Benintendi ripped a three-RBI double to extend Boston’s lead to 7-0.
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Oct 8, 2018; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi (16) hits a three RBI double in the fourth inning against the New York Yankees in game three of the 2018 ALDS playoff baseball series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
Benintendi would come around to score on a Steve Pearce RBI single. Two more runs would come around to score on a triple by Holt.
The Yankees added a run in the bottom of the fourth when Didi Gregorious grounded into a fielder’s choice.
Martinez picked up a run-scoring single in the seventh inning.
Holt hit a ground-rule double in the eighth inning, driving in Devers. Ian Kinsler scored on a wild pitch. Betts added a single to score Holt.
Holt homered off Romine in the ninth to complete the cycle and extend the lead to 16-1.
Up next:
The Red Sox will send Rick Porcello to the mound Tuesday night as they look to close out the Yankees in Game 4. New York will counter with C.C. Sabathia.