Red Sox continue record grand slam barrage: Kyle Schwarber's Game 3 blast their third in two games

BOSTON — Kyle Schwarber obliterated the baseball and just briefly tracked its flight, merely pivoting down the line, tossing his bat aside and breaking into a languid trot. 

After all, a Boston Red Sox hitting a grand slam in this American League Championship Series is scarcely a surprise anymore. 

Schwarber capped a six-run second inning in Game 3 with a towering drive to right field for a grand slam off Houston Astros starter Jose Urquidy, who, three batters later, would be pulled from the game.

The Red Sox have turned baseball's jackpot into a routine occurrence, and it may yet propel them back to the World Series. 

Boston hit grand slams in the first two innings of Game 2 at Houston, the first time in playoff history a team hit twin slams in one game. That keyed a 9-5 victory that squared the series but gave the Red Sox a significant upper hand. 

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Then came Game 3, a quiet affair with no baserunners for the first inning and a half. And then the dam burst, in hurried, historic fashion. 

A one-out walk to Alex Verdugo began the proceedings, but the real uh-oh moment came when second baseman Jose Altuve allowed a bases-loaded grounder off Christian Arroyo's bat to eat him up, the ball deflecting on him for an error.

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It's unlikely Altuve could have turned an inning-ending double play, but a 2-0 deficit with one out and two on is a lot different than bases loaded, one out and home run machine Schwarber at the plate. 

And he pounced, sending Fenway Park into a frenzy and Boston in command of Game 3, joining Game 2 heroes J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers in the slam dance.

Boston now owns two slam-tastic feats - two grand slams in one playoff game, and three in two games. And they're only halfway home in this ALCS.