HOUSTON -- It's one of the traps so many fall into throughout the course of a Major League Baseball season. The importance of one game, or the impact of a single series.
Typically, the reality is that all of it is hyperbole. The season is too long. There are too many peaks and valleys in even the most talented team's schedule to put a pin in what was a fraction of a 162-game schedule.
Realistically, that was the probably the case here at Minute Maid Park. Sorry.
The Red Sox beat the Astros 9-3 Sunday night, leading to the split of four-game series against the world champs. True, they did it without Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia, but it wasn't as if Houston was at full-strength either. Much like these two teams looked different a month ago, they will undoubtedly offer different appearances when they reunite at Fenway Park from Sept. 7-9. (For a complete recap, click here.)
But ...
"Yeah, I think these last two games were big for us," said Red Sox starting pitcher Rick Porcello. "It's early June but we dropped the first two games and felt like we needed to kind of punch back a little bit. We had a tough time with them last year, obviously the last series and going into the postseason. We definitely took a couple punches the last two games so it was good."
"We knew what we had to do coming in," added Sunday night's offensive hero, Mitch Moreland (3-for-4, HR). "They've got a good team but we do too. They have to throw to us. That's the way we looked at it. We came out and were able to get two wins to finish off the series. It was a good one."
"We came here and we competed at a high level," said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. "We know we're a little bit banged up but guys step up and the energy was great. We faced four of the best righties in the big leagues and we did a good job with them. We know that team is going to be around in October, and where we want to be probably are going to have to go through them."
And that is why these games could be circled. It clearly meant something to the participants, which means a whole lot more than any June storylines we might manufacture.
The Red Sox not only needed to beat the Astros two straight times in their own stadium in order to leave town with a series split, but they had to do so against two of just eight starting pitchers in the American League who carry ERAs of under 3.00, Justin Verlander and Charlie Morton. And from its side of things, Cora's club needed to lean on two starters (David Price, Rick Porcello) who hadn't yet earned full trust from the Boston baseball public when it came to winning these sort of showdowns.
These last two wins did alter that narrative a bit. Price and Porcello proved they can actually pitch successfully against this lineup, with the Sox' righty maybe offering the greatest dose of optimism for Cora, allowing two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings.
Offensively, let's be honest. This felt like a "doing just enough" type of deal. That's fine. The takeaway in that this version of the Red Sox might be able to keep up with the Astros thanks to the ability to hit the ball out of the park. It felt different than when the 2017 Sox hoped for three or four straight hits only to be smacked in the face by a home run from Houston.
The Red Sox hit just as many home runs as the Astros (6) while totaling one more run (19). And while at first glance it would seem that this was a production propelled solely by Andrew Benintendi and Moreland, it should be noted that two players who came into the series classified as bench players did a whole lot to help this cause. Eduardo Nunez hit .417 (5-for-12), while Brock Holt led the team in RBI (4).
Now that's it over, nothing has changed in regards to the American League hierarchy. The Red Sox and Yankees are virtually tied at the top of the AL East, with Seattle now joining Houston as the two other teams who are viewed as legitimate contenders. (Cleveland could re-enter the conversation, but sit only two games over .500 right now.)
For the Red Sox, what this was was a step in the right direction. Four days ago that's something Cora and Co. would have certainly signed up for.
Cora pinch-hit for J.D. Martinez in the ninth inning, sending up Sam Travis (who ripped a two-run single). The move was made due Martinez's sore back.
"Traveling," said Cora when asked about a possible explanation for Martinez's ailment. "A lot of people complain, honestly, about the travel and that's why we stay off the field. I think the workload the past few days, day games at home, and flying all the way here. Probably that's why. I told him, 'Hey man, we're up four, we've got the best closer in the game, if we can't shut it down up four without you, we don't deserve to win the game.' And, Sam, he put a good at-bat. That was good to see. That's a good pitcher over there, fastball/slider, and for him to stay through that pitch was good to see."
