ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- An hour before first pitch Friday night, it wasn’t even clear if J.D. Martinez would be in the lineup for the Red Sox in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Rays. They’re sure happy he was.
Martinez had four of Boston’s 20 hits -- including a three-run, go-ahead homer off Rays reliever Matt Wisler that broke a 5-5 tie in the fifth -- and the Red Sox beat the Rays, 14-6, to even the best-of-five series, 1-1. On a night when Chris Sale lasted just one inning, Tanner Houck steadied things as Boston crawled out of a 5-2 deficit by scoring 12 of the final 13 runs -- including eight on a postseason franchise record five homers.
After the Sox tagged rookie starter Shane Baz for two runs and four hits in the top of the first, Sale followed with one of the ugliest innings of his Red Sox tenure. He gave up back-to-back singles before striking out Brandon Lowe, then issued a walk and allowed a Yandy Díaz RBI single that cut Boston’s lead to 2-1. The next batter, Jordan Luplow, then launched a grand slam down the left-field line to give the Rays an early 5-2 lead; Sale would not last past the first, allowing five runs on four hits as his career postseason ERA grew to 7.27.
Houck stabilized things with a 1-2-3 second, then Xander Bogaerts and Alex Verdugo began chipping away at Tampa Bay’s lead with solo shots in the third. In the top of the fifth, with Houck still cruising, Kiké Hernández made it 5-4 with a leadoff solo homer off Collin McHugh. Four batters later, following a Rafael Devers walk and Bogaerts single, Martinez launched the go-ahead shot -- a 412-foot shot to dead center field -- to give Boston an 8-5 lead.
Houck was brilliant in relief, allowing a single run -- on a Ji-Man Choi solo shot in the sixth -- on two hits while recording five strikeouts. Until Wander Franco singled in the fifth, Houck had retired 30 straight batters over four appearances.
Christian Vázquez provided an insurance run with an RBI single in the seventh, then Ryan Brasier held the 9-6 lead by striking out all three batters he faced. In the eighth, after Hernández doubled, Devers launched a two-run homer off Michael Wacha to break things open and give the Sox an 11-6 lead. The Sox plated three more runs on the ninth -- on a Vázquez RBI single and a Hernández two-run single -- and ending the night with 20 hits.
Boston’s bullpen combined to allow a single run on four hits in eight innings, as Hansel Robles and Matt Barnes each followed Brasier with scoreless frames.
Hernández has historic night
Hernández was 5-for-6 with a homer, three doubles and a single. He drove in three runs and scored three times.
Hernández became just the 10th player in MLB history with five hits in a postseason game as well as the first Red Sox player ever to record four extra-base hits in a playoff game.
Sox set postseason franchise records for homers, road hits
Boston’s five-homer performance set a franchise record for most home runs in a postseason game. Previously, the Sox had hit four homers in five playoff games (1967 World Series Game 6, 1999 ALDS Game 4, 2004 ALCS Game 7, 2008 ALCS Game 2 and 2018 World Series Game 5).
The 20-hit performance marked the highest hit total for the Red Sox in a postseason road game in franchise history. Five players had multiple hits: Hernández (5), Martinez (4), Bogaerts (3), Verdugo (3) and Vázquez (3).
Eovaldi has Game 3 on Sunday
The Sox and Rays are off Saturday before resuming their series Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park. Nathan Eovaldi will start for the Red Sox with right-hander Drew Rasmussen expected to pitch for the Rays. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07 p.m. ET.
Boston’s Game 2 win guaranteed that the teams will play a Game 4 on Monday night at 7:07 p.m. ET at Fenway.
Related links:
Chris Sale pitches just 1 inning for Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the ALDS, leaves behind 5-2
Ad Choices