Red Sox-Astros series an unexpected gift to Sox fans

TUESDAY, OCT. 19 UPDATE: Memo to Sox fans: As crazy as the last two wins have been, do not get cocky. The Astros lineup is still fearsome and the final two games of a seven-game series are the toughest to win. So don't get ahead of yourselves; just root, root for the Red Sox.

Boston Red Sox fans can't lose this postseason, which after the way the Red Sox blew a big lead in the American League Eastern Division race in August, was totally unexpected.
Be honest, Sox fans: In late August or on Labor Day, you hoped for a wild card berth, but even that end to the 2021 regular season seemed unlikely, between the injuries and COVID-19 outbreak that decimated the team.
But then the Sox started to amaze their fans. Needing to win the last three games of the regular season against the Washington Nationals just to qualify for a wild card berth, they did so, and got the No. 1 wild card slot when they ended the season tied at 92-70 apiece with the New York Yankees.
(Fans of a certain age will remember that was the record of the 1967 Red Sox, who needed the Detroit Tigers to drop the second game of a doubleheader against the California Angels to clinch the AL Pennant outright ---- there were no playoffs or divisions then, the next-to-last year of the 10-team league setup).
From that point on, this postseason ride has been an Impossible Dream of sorts for this plucky 2021 Red Sox team.
First they beat the hated New York Yankees in a one-game winner-take-all Wild Card game at Fenway Park. Then, after losing the first game of the American League Division Series (ALDS) 5-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays, won Game 2 in St. Petersburg by a lopsided 14-6 score, and then won the next two games at Fenway with two walk-off wins in the 13th and ninth innings in Games 3 and 4.
Those memories alone will keep fans warm during those cold January nights, but the Sox are proving that nothing is out of reach in this version of what is becoming another glorious postseason run.
After dropping a very tough 5-4 decision to the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series Friday night in Minute Maid Park in Houston (they led 3-1), they rebounded on Saturday, to win Game 2 by a final score of 9-5 after taking an 8-0 lead in the top half of the second inning on the strength of grand slams by J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers and a solo home run by the 2021 version of both David Ortiz and Carl Yastrzemski, Kiki Hernandez. The Sox centerfielder is leading the way with both his bat and glove.
As the series shifts to Boston for Games 3-5 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, it seems as though this could be a six- or seven-game series. The Red Sox have reason to feel confident about dispatching the Astros, but even if they fall short, the team already has accomplished far more than anyone could have imagined them doing just a few short weeks ago.
Enjoy this postseason ride, which is a gift to all Red Sox fans.

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