ALCS GAME 5: RED SOX 4, ASTROS 1
Season over: Red Sox continue to dominate, beat Astros 4-1 in Game 5 to clinch AL pennant
Oct 18, 2018, 10:47 pm
Justin Verlander had a rough outing. Elsa/Getty Images
Boston's offense continued to overpower the Astros in Game 5, backing up a dominant start from David Price to win Game 5 of the ALCS 4-1, eliminating the Houston Astros from the 2018 postseason and sending the Red Sox to the World Series.
The Astros offense simply had no answer for Price in Game 5, while the Red Sox were able to do damage against Justin Verlander to win the series. Verlander went six innings, during which he allowed two home runs, one a solo shot to J.D. Martinez and the other a game-defining three-run home run by Rafael Devers. Marwin Gonzalez hit a solo homer late, but it would be a futile run in the loss.
Verlander got the win-or-go-home Game 5 started in the top of the first and was able to do something the Astros hadn't done in the three previous games; keep the Red Sox off the scoreboard in the first inning. Verlander was able to get two quick pop outs and then work around a two-out walk to get through the first frame. Jose Altuve got the first hit of the night in the bottom of the inning, a two-out single, but would be left stranded there with Price striking out Carlos Correa to end the inning.
A rare error by Alex Bregman allowed Boston to get a runner on first in the top of the second, then Boston got a two-out single to put runners on first and second, followed by a walk to load the bases, but Verlander was able to strike out Mookie Betts to strand all three. Yuli Gurriel led off the bottom of the inning with a single but would be unable to advance with Price retiring the next three in order.
J.D. Martinez, after getting saved by the umpire on what should have been a strike three, took the next pitch to the Crawford Boxes to give Boston a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Price meanwhile made it a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning to send things on to the fourth.
Verlander was able to get a three up, three down inning of his own in the top of the fourth. Gurriel made it 2-for-2 on the night with a two-out double in the bottom of the inning, but Price would get a strikeout to strand him again.
Martinez continued to hit Verlander well, getting a two-out single in the top of the fifth, but Verlander would erase that with a lineout to end the top half. Price continued to match Verlander inning for inning, putting the Astros down in order yet again in the bottom of the inning.
Verlander allowed a leadoff double to start the sixth, then a single to put runners on the corners with no outs. That set up Rafael Devers who delivered for Boston with a huge three-run homer to make it 4-0 Boston. Houston continued to get shutout on offense in the bottom half of the inning, with Price adding another 1-2-3 inning to his dominant night.
Verlander's night was done after the four-run six innings of work, and first out of Houston's bullpen was Roberto Osuna, who had a quick inning to keep the score at 4-0. The bottom of the seventh also marked the end of the line for Price, who would end his night with six terrific shutout innings for Boston. Matt Barnes was the first reliever for the Red Sox and watched the lead be trimmed down to three with a two-out solo home run by Gonzalez to make it a 4-1 game. Kemp was next and worked a walk, resulting in another call to the bullpen to bring in Game 3 starter Nathan Eovaldi, who would get the third out.
Osuna made it a multi-inning appearance by returning in the top of the eighth and worked around a one-out double to keep the lead at three runs. Eovaldi stayed in the game for Boston in the bottom of the inning and worked around a two-out single by George Springer to put the Red Sox three outs away.
In the top of the ninth, the Astros stayed with Osuna's hot hand, and he was able to retire the side. Boston went to closer Craig Kimbrel in the bottom of the inning, who get the save to end the game and the Astros' season.
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How Astros advanced metrics tell puzzling story about Houston's start
Apr 17, 2025, 5:21 pm
Major League Baseball’s regular season is 162 games long. You can think of 18 games as the first inning of the season, 18 times nine equaling 162. While the Astros 8-10 record is not good, it’s far from disastrous. Think of it as them being behind 1-0 after the first inning. It is pretty remarkable that they have yet to win consecutive games. Even during last year’s 7-19 stink bomb of a start the Astros twice managed to win two in a row.
The Astros’ offensive woes are plentiful. Oddly enough as impotent as they’ve been, the Astros have yet to be shutout. But in half their games they have scored exactly one or two runs. Basically, most of them stink thus far. Exemptions go to Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes, but it’s not like either of them has been outstanding. It’s still early enough that one big series can dramatically alter the numbers, but the Astros badly need Yordan Alvarez to pick up his production. Yordan enters the weekend batting just .224 with a .695 OPS and just four extra base hits. Yainer rhymes with minor. As in minor leagues, where Diaz belongs at his current level of performance. That is not saying Diaz should be sent down, just that any random AAA catcher called up couldn’t have done much worse to this point. Diaz isn’t hitting Altuve’s weight, a woeful .130 with seven hits in 57 at bats. Diaz simply remains too undisciplined at the plate swinging at too many balls. He’s drawn three walks. And now to Christian Walker, who thus far has delivered return on investment for his three year 60 million dollar contract about as strong as the stock market’s performance in Tariff Time. Walker’s .154 batting average and .482 OPS are very Astro Jose Abreu-like. Walker’s23 strikeouts in 65 at bats jump off the page. He has often looked befuddled in the batter's box. Walker is definitely pressing and frustrated, wanting to perform better for his new team. Jeremy Pena goes into the weekend batting .215 and has one hit in 13 at bats with runners in scoring position. Brendan Rodgers, Jake Meyers, and Chas McCormick all have weak stat lines, with little reason to expect quality offensive output from any of them. Cam Smith is at .200 with a yucky .591 OPS but he’s obviously a young stud work in progress thrown into the deep end of the pool.
All batting orders are top-heavy, the Astros’ on paper more so than many. As I set forth on one of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts this week, the first inning should be a team’s best offensive inning. It’s the only frame in which a team gets to dictate who comes up from the start with the batters lined up just as the manager slots them. Add to that, the first inning is a good time to get to a starting pitcher before he settles in. The Astros have scored a pitiful three first inning runs in 18 games, and in two of the games they pushed one across in the first, it turned out to be the only Astro run of the game. Improvement needs to come internally from the big league roster. It’s not as if the Astros have a meaningful prospect at AAA Sugar Land who looks ready to help. Entering play Thursday the Space Cowboys’ team average was .186. Second base hopeful Brice Matthews is nowhere close, batting .180 and striking out left and right. Outfielder Jacob Melton opened three for 17 following the back injury-delayed start to his season.
As exasperating and boring as the offense has been for so many, grading needs to occur on a curve. So, while the Astros’ team batting average is a joke at .216, know that at close of business Wednesday the entire American League was batting just .232. The American League West-leading Texas Rangers scored eight fewer runs over their first 18 games than did the Astros, though that is skewed by the Astros’ one 14-run outburst against the Angels.
Familiar faces return
This weekend the Astros play host to the San Diego Padres at Daikin Park. The Friars are off to a fabulous start at 15-4. The Padres being here creates a mini reunion as both Martin Maldonado and Yuli Gurriel are on their roster. In a telling fact, Maldonado would have the third-highest batting average on the Astros if on the team with his current numbers. Maldonado is hitting .250 with seven hits in 28 at bats. The last season he finished above .200 was 2020. The only season in his career Maldonado topped .234 was his rookie season with a .266 mark in 2012.
Gurriel was last good in 2021 when he won the American League batting title at .319. He fell off a cliff from there, though perked up to have a fine postseason in the Astros’ 2022 run to World Series title number two. “La Pina” is batting .115 with just three hits in 26 at bats. Gurriel may be released soon, and approaching his 41st birthday June 9, that would probably be the end of the line. Short-timer Astro Jason Heyward is also on the Padres, and batting .190.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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