Boston’s baseball season came to an end Friday night in Houston, as the Red Sox fell to the Houston Astros 5-0 in Game 6 of the ALCS. After taking a 2-1 lead in the series, the Sox lost three straight games leading to their elimination.
Game 6 was a continuation of the previous two outings, with the Boston bats’ quiet from start to finish. They were no-hit into the six inning, and finished with just five total baserunners on the night.
Kyle Schwarber reached to start the inning on a dropped third strike, but Luis Garcia retired the next three Red Sox hitters in order. Nathan Eovaldi got two quick outs, but after a single from Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez struck again with an RBI double to deep center field to put the Astros up 1-0 after one.
Neither team would make any noise again until the bottom of the fourth, when a Bregman single and Alvarez double set Houston up with two on and nobody out. With the game on the brink, Eovaldi was able to record three straight strikeouts, ending the threat without allowing the Astros to extend their lead.
The Red Sox failed to respond, striking out twice in the top of the fifth. Nathan Eovaldi started the bottom half of the inning but was pulled with one on and one out in favor of Josh Taylor. Josh Taylor finished things up, as the Red Sox escaped yet another situation with a runner in scoring position after a fielder’s choice.
It wasn’t until the next inning the Red Sox showed their first sign of life. With two outs, Kiké Hernandez came feet away from a home run, hitting a line drive off the left field wall for a triple. However, Rafael Devers popped up on the next pitch ending the inning.
Then, Alvarez would get the Red Sox again. He led off the third inning with a triple down the right field line, his third hit of the night and eighth of his last 12 at-bats. He’d come around to score on an unassisted double play by Schwarber, which ended up limiting the damage to one run and left the score at 2-0 heading into the seventh inning,
Heads up base running by Yordan Álvarez to score on this hard hit ball to 1st!@astros lead 2-0! pic.twitter.com/gYFcrpQvTe
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 23, 2021
It looked like the Red Sox would threaten again in the seventh. With runners on first and third and one out, Travis Shaw pinch hit for Christian Arroyo. On the verge of a big play, Shaw struck out and Alex Verdugo was caught stealing, bringing the inning to an end.
The Astros would get three more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth off a Kyle Tucker home run, which brought the game to its final score of 5-0. With those runs, the Astros outscored the Red Sox 22-1 over the final two-plus games of the series.
Eovaldi took the loss, despite throwing 4.1 innings while allowing just one run, which came in the first inning. He allowed five hits while recording four strikeouts.
Luis Garcia’s dominant effort earned him the series-clinching win. He struck out seven hitters in 5.1 innings, allowing just one hit which came on his final pitch.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox offense accumulated just two hits, while striking out nine times. They scored one run in the final 26 innings of the series.
Houston now waits to see who wins the NLCS. The Braves currently leads that series 3-2 over the Dodgers, with Game 6 tomorrow night. Game 1 of the World Series is set for Tuesday.
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Alex Barth is a writer and digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Looking for a podcast guest? Let him know on Twitter @RealAlexBarth or via email at abarth@985TheSportsHub.com.
