October 18, 2018
Andrew Benintendi charged in hard and left his feet.
Make the catch, Boston wins.
If not ... no telling.
On this night, though, even a ball the Red Sox couldn't grab went their way.
Benintendi, Red Sox hold off Astros 8-6 for 3-1 ALCS lead
Benintendi made a diving play in left field with the bases loaded for the final out, and Boston held off the Houston Astros 8-6 Wednesday to take a 3-1 lead in the AL Championship Series.
"I thought I could catch it and timed it up well," Benintendi said. "At that point, it was either do or die."
Boosted by a questionable fan interference call and another home run from Jackie Bradley Jr. in a gripping, back-and-forth game, the Red Sox moved within one victory of their first World Series trip since winning the 2013 title.
Craig Kimbrel earned a shaky six-out save, helped by a rocket throw from right fielder Mookie Betts and Benintendi's daring grab of Alex Bregman's sinking liner. Had the ball scooted past Benintendi, it easily could have scored three runs and won the game for Houston.
"Beni took a shot. Had a great jump. And he got it," Boston manager Alex Cora said.
With that, the Red Sox improved to 4-0 on the road in these playoffs and inched closer to eliminating the defending World Series champions.
"This game was incredibly good on both sides — great at-bats, great plays," Astros manager AJ Hinch said. "The difference in that game literally was a couple inches."
Game 5 is Thursday night in Houston, where ace Justin Verlander will pitch for the Astros with their season on the line. David Price, who was warming up in the bullpen late in Game 4, will start for Boston on three days' rest after Chris Sale was ruled out Wednesday while recovering from a stomach illness.
Bradley hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning, his latest huge swing for a Red Sox team that was knocked out of the postseason by Houston in the Division Series last year.
Boston has won three straight after a Game 1 loss, and this one came with some controversy.
Jose Altuve was denied a potential two-run homer in the first inning for Houston and called out after fans reaching for the ball interfered with Betts' attempt at a leaping catch.
"Jose pays the biggest price because the trajectory of the ball looked like it was going to leave the ballpark," Hinch said. "Changed that whole inning."
Boston trailed by one with two outs in the sixth when Christian Vazquez doubled to deep right-center. Center fielder George Springer nearly made a leaping catch, but the ball glanced off his glove.
Bradley, who hit a grand slam in Game 3 and a three-run double in Game 2, put the Red Sox on top 6-5 with his soaring shot to right field on the next pitch from rookie Josh James.
"I'm very proud of him, what he's done in the second part of the season and what he's done tonight and in this series. It's amazing," Cora said.
Boston got some insurance in the seventh when Lance McCullers walked in a run after taking over for Ryan Pressly with the bases loaded and two outs. J.D. Martinez padded the lead further with an RBI single in the eighth.
Houston cut the lead to two on an RBI groundout by Altuve in the eighth. Right fielder Josh Reddick made a diving catch of Betts' sinking liner with the bases loaded to end the top of the ninth.
Red Sox starter Rick Porcello allowed seven hits and four runs over four innings in a wild game that took 4 hours, 33 minutes. Joe Kelly was the winner after giving up a run in the fifth.
Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts had two RBIs apiece for the Red Sox, who have outscored their opponents 36-12 on the road this postseason.
Houston's Carlos Correa, who has struggled with back problems for months, had three hits and two RBIs for his first multihit game this postseason. Springer and Tony Kemp each hit a solo homer for the Astros, who left 13 runners on base.
A rusty Charlie Morton gave up three hits, three runs and two walks in just 2 1/3 innings. He also threw two wild pitches in his first outing for the Astros since the regular-season finale on Sept. 30.
James took over and yielded four hits and three runs while striking out five in 3 2/3 innings during his second postseason appearance.
Morton had trouble with control from the start and plunked Betts before a one-out walk to Martinez. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance before a two-out single by Devers sent them both home to give the Red Sox two runs in the first inning for the third straight game.
The disputed home run call came in the bottom of the inning when umpires ruled at least one fan interfered with Betts' attempt at a leaping catch above the right-field wall on the ball hit by Altuve.
Crew chief Joe West, working the right-field line, signaled fan interference after Betts was unable to make the grab and the ball ricocheted back onto the field.
"The spectator reached out of the stands and hit him over the playing field and closed his glove," West said. "The fan interfered with him over the playing field. That's why I called spectator interference."
The call stood after a replay review that lasted 3 minutes, 13 seconds.
"The replay official said I was right," West explained. "That's all. He said I have nothing that can change it."
Altuve was ruled out and Springer was sent back to first base.
Cora, for one, wasn't surprised.
"Joe calls it right away and I saw the replay," he said. "And I said, no way they're going to overturn this. I was pretty sure."
Altuve was disappointed with the call but not mad at the fan.
"I don't have anything against him," he said. "He's another Astros fan rooting for us. Appreciate he was trying to help me."
Hinch moved Bregman up to the leadoff spot from third after the Red Sox walked him seven times in the first three games. The shake-up didn't help the Astros, though, as Bregman went 0 for 5 and was hit by a pitch.
Springer got the Astros within a run when he sent Porcello's first pitch of the third inning into the seats in right field. Unlike Altuve's, this one was a no-doubter, sailing about seven rows into the stands into a pocket of about four fans wearing Red Sox jerseys.
Altuve followed with a double that clanged off the wall in left field. Last year's AL MVP, who has been Houston's designated hitter as he deals with a bruised knee, grimaced as he slid into second on the play and was limping after he got to his feet.
"He's a tough kid," Hinch said. "He's giving us everything that he's got, but he's hurting."
Reddick tied the game at 3 with two outs when he singled to shallow left-center to score Altuve, who still looked uncomfortable as he trotted home.
Kemp gave Houston its first lead when he knocked a slider from Porcello over the wall in the right-field corner in the fourth.
Benintendi's second double came in the fifth and he scored on a two-out single by Bogaerts to tie it at 4.
Correa's run-scoring single made it 5-4 in the bottom of the inning.
SMALL FRATERNITY
Bradley joined Nomar Garciaparra (1998) as the only Red Sox players to have at least three RBIs in three straight postseason games.
FLIPPING OUT
Red Sox first baseman Steve Pearce flipped head over heels into the Astros dugout chasing a foul ball hit by Reddick in the seventh. Pearce's legs crashed into a bench but he didn't hit his head. Several Astros then aided Pearce, with Verlander grabbing him by the hand and helping him up after the spill.
UP NEXT
Verlander is 6-1 with a 2.44 ERA in eight postseason appearances for the Astros. He allowed two hits and two runs over six innings for the win in Houston's 7-2 victory in Game 1 at Fenway Park.
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.