Pomeranz took the mound in the top of the first inning and got George Springer to ground out to third to begin. Alec Bregman whiffed and Jose Altuve lined out to center to end the inning. Lance McCullers Jr blinded the Sox in the bottom of the first inning. Xander Bogaerts whiffed, Andrew Benintendi lined out to left and Mookie Betts popped up to left to end the inning.
Carlos Correa singled to left to open the top of the second inning but Evan Gattis banged into a double play. Yuli Guriel grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox mustered nothing in the bottom of the second inning as Mitch Moreland grounded out to short, Hanley Ramirez popped up to second and Rafael Devers whiffed to end the inning.
The Astros nearly struck first in the top of the third inning although Brian McCann looked at strike three to start. Cameron Maybin grounded out to second but Pomeranz misplayed a grounder hit by Derek Fisher for a single. Springer walked but Bregman popped up to short to end the inning.
McCullers was hit hard by everyone in the AL but not the Sox as Christian Vazquez struck out to open the bottom of the third. Brock Holt singled to right but was erased on the force by Jackie Bradley Jr. Bogaerts watched strike three go by to end the inning.
Pomeranz stayed tough in the top of the fourth inning as he froze Altuve to start. Correa grounded out to second and Gattis popped up to short to end the inning. The Sox somehow exploded in the bottom of the fourth inning although Benintendi struck out to begin the inning. Betts and Moreland worked back to back walks before Ramirez hit a seeing eye single up the middle to load the bases. Devers smashed a double off the Monster to score Betts and Moreland to break the tie. Vazquez grounded out to short and Holt looked at strike three to end the inning but it was 2-0 Sox.
Guriel walked to open the top of the fifth inning but McCann popped up to second and Yuri was erased on the force by Maybin. Cameron took off for second but was gunned down by Vazquez to end the inning. The Sox exploded in the bottom of the fifth although JBJ hit a comebacker to start. Bogaerts doubled and scored on the Benintendi single. Betts singled to chase McCullers and Tony Sipp entered the game. Immediately Betts and Benintendi pulled off a double steal before both scored on the double by Moreland to ice the game. Ramirez was intentionally walked but Devers whiffed. That was it for Sipp as James Hoyt came in to get Vazquez to ground out to end the inning but it was now 5-0 Sox.
Could Pomeranz pitch with the lead in the top of the sixth? You bet your bippy big guy! Fisher grounded out to first, Springer grounded out to second and Bregman also grounded out to second to end the inning. 6 shutout innings by Pomeranz with the season on the line, maybe he is ready for October? Holt grounded out to begin the bottom of the sixth but JBJ singled. Bogaerts walked but Benintendi banged into a double play to end the inning.
Pomeranz returned for the top of the seventh inning but Altuve singled to left. Sox manager John Farrell bolted out of the dugout and tackled Pomeranz to the ground before signalling for Carson Smith to come in. Farrell dragged Pomeranz away kicking and screaming but Drew tossed six shut-solid innings before being replaced.
Then the wheels fell off in the seventh as Correa hit a swinging bunt down the 3rd base side for a single. Gattis singled home Altuve to put the Astros on the board. Guriel then singled off the Monster to score Correa and chase the incompetent Smith from the game. Suddenly David Price was summoned to stop the bleeding after the incompetent Farrell all but guaranteed he was unavailable going into the game. McCann was robbed of an infield single by Holt but both runners moved into scoring position. Maybin looked at strike three before Tyler White pinch hit for Fisher, walking to load the bases. John Farrell walked to the mound to ask David Price if he saw IT in theaters but Addison Reed started chugging in from the bullpen, assuming he was being brought in. The entire dugout and everyone on the field screamed at Reed to beat it and he beat a hasty retreat.
When play resumed, Price froze Springer on a nasty slider to end the inning. The Astros began their comeback and was now down 5-2.
Luke Gregerson took the mound in the bottom of the seventh with Tony Kemp in left and Betts greeted him with a solo blast off the top of the Monster to increase the lead. Gregerson whiffed Moreland, Ramirez and Devers to end the inning but it was 6-2 Sox.
Addison Reed finally made his appearance in the top of the eighth with Deven Marrero now at third and got Bregman to ground out to short to begin. Marrero earned his money by making a great running stab of a liner by Altuve. Correa walked but Gattis popped up to first to end the inning with the Sox 3 outs away from winning back to back Division titles for the first time ever. Michael Feliz came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Vazquez whiffed to start. Holt managed to line a base hit off the glove of Bregman but JBJ popped up to Altuve. Bogaerts struck out to end the inning.
3 outs away from the Division, Sox manager John Farrell took no chances and brought in Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel to close out the top of the ninth. Craig blew away Guriel on a 98 mph fastball up in his eyes but McCann blasted a solo home run to get one last laugh at his old teammate. Maybin doubled off the centerfield wall. Kimbrel blew away Kemp and Springer to end the game. It took 161 games but for the first time in franchise history, the Sox had won back to back AL East Division titles.
Hero of the Night is Drew Pomeranz. The season seemed to be slipping away and the anemic offense only shows up when it wants to, but he stepped up big time to toss 6 innings of 1 run ball to help win the division.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 3 with 3 runs scored, a walk, a stolen base and a solo home run.
Mitch Moreland was 1 for 3 with a walk, 2 rbis and a run scored.
Hanley Ramirez was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.
Brock Holt was 2 for 4.
David Price got out of the jam in the 7th inning.
Addison Reed pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
The Bad:
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Carson Smith gave up 3 hits and a run without retiring anyone.
Craig Kimbrel gave up a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning.
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked and scored.
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run, stole a base and scored.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Jackie Bradley Jr was just 1 for 4.
Honorable Mention:
Deven Marrero played third in the top of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox held off the New York Yankees after all even though it took 161 games to do it. The Red Sox will meet these same Astros in the ALDS in Houston beginning on Thursday. Who pitches and what time is still to be determined. It was a long, frustrating season and thankfully it is coming to an end. Throughout their history the Red Sox have been a bashing bunch of boppers with little pitching but this year was the complete opposite. They had one of the best team ERA's in the league but were in the bottom in all hitting categories. How they can beat the 100 win Astros with a pathetic offense is anyone's guess, but they're going to have to figure it out. The Yankees will now play the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday which will be an easy win for New York since the Twins roll over and die in Yankee Stadium. This means the Yankees will run smack into the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS who are playing more inspired baseball than the Astros really. There is an outside shot it could be Sox/Yankees to decide the pennant but that would require two monumental upsets. As for now the win propelled the Sox to 93-68 and AL East Division champions. Tomorrow afternoon's season finale is now meaningless so Hector "The Insurance Policy" Velazquez gets the start against Collin McHugh at 3:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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