BOSTON — Cold start.
On a chilly night at Fenway Park, the Red Sox gave ground to the defending World Series champs, dropping the opener of the American League Championship Series 7-2 to the Astros.
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Here are three takeaways.
1. The power is gone, and as wonderful as Game 3’s outburst during the ALDS was without a long ball until the ninth inning -- when Brock Holt socked one off Austin Romine --- the Sox need to go deep. Mookie Betts (1-for-4), Andrew Benintendi (0-for-4), J.D. Martinez (0-for-3) and Xander Bogaerts (0-for-3) were a combined 2-for-14 on Saturday night. Besides their general ineffectiveness at the plate, the long ball has disappeared all over. Martinez homered in Game 1 of the ALDS. Bogaerts did in Game 2. In the aforementioned Game 3, Holt went yard, and Game 4, Christian Vazquez took one out to the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium. There was nothing on Saturday. For their last three playoff games, then, the only homer the Sox have hit off a non-pitcher was Vazquez’s short-porch shot.
2. Alex Cora didn’t lose the game for the Red Sox, but he also didn’t help as he could have. The bats were quiet, tamed by an Astros staff that is both dominant and as well prepared as any. Yet Cora’s decision to play Eduardo Nunez over Rafael Devers was again questionable, as Devers showed poor range on George Springer’s two-run single in the second inning, a ball hit just a bit to Devers’ left. Nunez also made a throwing error that led to another run, the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. The Astros broke a tie at 2 later in the frame. Nunez played because Cora liked his ability against Justin Verlander’s high fastballs, but Devers is a better player overall, with greater range in the field and pop. Over a 162-game season, there’s no question Devers would contribute more to the Sox than Nunez would. (Cora in the ALDS said he started Nunez at third base behind David Price because of Nunez’s defense.) Combine that choice with Cora losing his temper and getting ejected after the bottom of the fifth inning — he was unhappy with home-plate umpire James Hoye, who rung up Andrew Benintendi on a pitch that Cora thought was outside — and Cora didn’t have his best showing. Getting ejected in your fifth career playoff game as manager over balls and strikes doesn’t serve a purpose. The job is to oversee the field, and even if he can and does run messages to the dugout, letting someone else take over in a playoff game is something he could have prevented by keeping his calm.
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3. Verlander and Chris Sale both allowed two runs and walked four, but Verlander was able to pitch longer, six innings compared to four, giving Verlander the nod in the opening duel of aces. Sale’s slider command and general inability to find the strike zone were perilous on Saturday night, particularly when combined with velocity that was in the low 90s. Sale may in fact be healthy, because allowed just one hit in four innings of work. But there remains a solid gap between Sale’s normal ability and what he offered Saturday, when he walked four. He also struck out five on 86 pitches. His next start should come in a warmer environment in Minute Maid Park, which should add some velocity back to his fastball. Verlander, rather inexplicably, just lost the strike zone in the bottom of the fifth inning, when the Red Sox scored a pair, one on a wild pitch.
