Boston Red Sox ALCS Game 3: It’s Nathan Eovaldi’s time to shine

After another unsatisfying playoff win in Game 2 of the ALCS, Nathan Eovaldi is set to take the mound for the Boston Red Sox at Houston in Game 3.

The Boston Red Sox are more similar to the New England Patriots than most Boston fans would like to admit. Think about it, both love to make things difficult in big games (Red Sox example: Game 2 of 2018 ALCS; Pats example: just about every Super Bowl).

For the Sox, this has become the norm over the past couple of postseason games. Alex Cora and company snuck out a 7-5 win on Sunday night against the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the ALCS. The driving force; a surprising three-run double from Jackie Bradley Jr. in the third inning.

That hit put Boston up 5-4, and from there, the middle part of the bullpen surprisingly helped alleviate any Astros run until (once again) the ninth inning rolled around, and Craig Kimbrel had to finish the save.

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The hard-throwing righty almost surrendered the contest, notably with a Jose Altuve RBI single to make it 7-5. Even the Alex Bregman fly-out to end the game was a hair away from leaving the ballpark and and tying the score. Much like in the Yankees series, the closer needed all of his power to not fold under pressure. It was the epitome for how the 2018 playoffs have gone for the Sox.

Even after the game was over, Bradley and Mookie Betts’ looked more-so relieved than excited when everything was over. Game 3 in Houston hopes to bring a more comfortable outcome for Boston (whether it be a comfortable loss, or a comfortable win).

It’s Nathan Eovaldi’s time

With a pitching matchup between Nathan Eovaldi and Dallas Keuchel, nothing seems likely. Eovaldi has only faced the Astros once in 2018, when he was still with the Tampa Bay Rays. He gave up four runs, and delivered a .291 batting average against, according to MLB.com.

Houston’s top of the order especially had a multitude of success in that one game this year. Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Carlos Correa combined to hit 5-9 against the righty, sparking a social media post from Bregman reminding Eovaldi what’s supposedly coming. Correa has had injury problems since that time though, and Eovaldi has definitely improved in big-game situations (a la the Yankees series).

Luckily for Nathan Eovaldi, Bregman forgot about Keuchel’s own struggles in 2018 against this hard-hitting Boston Red Sox offense. In the one appearance against Boston, Keuchel gave up a .345 average against, while Cora’s own top three hitters went 5-7. That was before JD Martinez would go on his Triple Crown run too.

Eovaldi nor Cora are phased by Bregman’s antics. It’s surprising to see such a high-caliber player participate in a nonsensical act, especially with someone like the former Ray pitcher, who rarely is seen in the spotlight (and doesn’t normally spark controversy).

Either way, Nathan Eovaldi will have to be ready to let his talents speak for themselves, notably because he’s back in his hometown. While he’s struggled against that vaunted top of the order, anything can happen. It’s October, and the Red Sox definitely have a chip on their shoulder after the way 2017 ended against AJ Hinch’s squad.

Game 3 is set to start at 5:09PM on Tuesday on TBS. The Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros fans may be in for a long series, so stay tuned.