BOSTON – Carlos Correa warned before the game that they had been in the same situation in postseason series before, when they were called evicted, and that they had been able to get up.

That seemed like the Houston Astros’ 9-2 win over the Boston Red Sox this Tuesday in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, before 38,010 fans packed into Fenway Park for the second night in a row.

The formula was the same as in the first victory in the Astros series, when a home run by José Altuve tied the game and Correa scored the advantage, although this time it was not a home run; He hit a game-breaking double for Houston, where the series will return on Friday.

That Correa run was the big difference, although the scoreline reads like a beating, since it does not by much reflect what happened in the game, although the dominance of the Astros bullpen over the Boston batters during seven and two-thirds innings. in white.

The point guard of Astros who have reached the postseason as if it were a routine responded generally: Alex Bregman homered in the first inning; Altuve equalized in the eighth and strap led the ninth with a double, to be pushed in by pinch hitter Jason Castro with the run of the gap before he turned into a beating of Red Sox best pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and then of Martín Pérez .

“This is one of the great things about baseball, that when you seem to be dead in the water and things aren’t going well, then boom boom boom and you’ve got seven runs,” said Astros manager Dusty Baker. . “We are also capable of doing what they have been doing to us, racing.”

Before the rally, it seemed that Correa was anchored in second, because Eovaldi launched with two strikes another that seemed similar, but umpire Laz Díaz called ball. A pitch later came the producing hit.

“Yeah, a lot of people thought it was a strike,” Cora said. “It was a good game until the end. We were one pitch away from finishing the inning and it didn’t happen. And then they scored seven. “

Zack Greinke did his part, although in statistics it seems otherwise. He pitched just one and a third innings; he made the mistake at first with a home run by Xander Bogaerts , with Boston’s only two runs in the game, but in the end he did what he had been asked to do, keep the game close and competitive before the relief came.

Even manager Dusty Baker had rejected Greinke as a bullpen game starter, though it would seem that way because his pitches were counted in advance for around 40, but they were 55.

Christian Javier and Kendall Graveman relieved 3 and 2 innings respectively, as part of the five pitchers that followed Greinke, to be the key to the win by stopping a Red Sox offense that seemed indefensible. This Tuesday only five hits.

“What our relief did today was incredible,” Altuve said. “They gave us the opportunity to win until the end.”

Despite all the vicissitudes of starting pitching, the Astros tied the series and made sure to return it home, before continuing on Wednesday with the final game at Fenway Park, where they have been treated hostilely, perhaps a little more than usual. that usually happens with visiting teams in such difficult customs.

“It’s just about staying focused here and moving forward,” Graveman said. “I told the guys in the bullpen, this team is going to go as far as the bullpen takes us and I really believe it. I believe in the guys there and when you continue challenging the zone and throwing strikes, good things are going to happen. “

Red Sox: Álex Verdugo shows his maturity, discipline and patience in the batter’s box

BOSTON – Álex Verdugo has always been considered a great prospect, who little by little has become a reality with the glove and the wood.

The Mexican-American outfielder has shown that he has a Gold Glove caliber defense and that he can produce and score runs.

But in the championship series, Verdugo shows his maturity, discipline and patience in the batter’s box.

Monday, Verdugo recovered from a 0-2 count to nine pitches after getting walked from the starter Houston Astros , Jose Urquidy , three pitches later became the first race of the match en route to beating with which their Red Sox defeated the Astros 12-3 in Game 3 of the series.

“I was joking with Alex the other day that the last time he walked it seemed like it was like four months ago,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He had been hitting hits and hitting right-handed pitchers, but he hadn’t had any walks. But this is part of what he can do, get on base anyway. “

“You can always count on Alex to get the job done,” he added.

Verdugo considered that everything is part of the maturing process as a player and the confidence that they create over time.

“Sometimes you have to be patient and disciplined,” Verdugo said. “It’s not always about hitting home runs.”

On Tuesday, Verdugo opened Game 4 of the series with two walks.

BAKER SAYS THAT IT IS AN OLD MANAGER

Dusty Baker acknowledged that he was an old-fashioned traditional manager and that the new situations or taunts between players during games, in conjunction with the traditional “unwritten rules” of baseball, no longer applied to many, but to him they did.

The Astros manager responded that he does not agree with the taunts among players, referring to the fact that Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodríguez made a sign to his wrist and said “it’s my team” when he struck out Carlos Correa. in the third game of the series.

That was a clear allusion to Correa making the same sign and saying “it’s my time” when he hit the winning homer in Game 1.

“My opinion is past,” said Baker, 72. “Things that happen today that both parties do, I mean in my day you probably would have been pushing daisies somewhere, you know what I mean? It is a new world, a new day ”.

But what is my opinion? It is too late for me to change the world ”.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora acknowledged that he had not liked the attitude of Rodriguez, who drew attention Monday night.

REPLACING LAST MINUTE MEYERS

Astros manager Baker had included starting center fielder Jake Meyers in the original lineup for the first time in the Championship Series, but changed his mind and started Chas McCormick .

Baker said they just thought Meyers wasn’t ready, who hurt his right shoulder in a hit with the wall in center field during the division series against the Chicago White Sox .

Baker said they will evaluate whether Meyers plays Game 4 of the Championship Series at Fenway Park on Wednesday.