Schwarber, Red Sox slam Astros to take 2-1 ALCS lead

Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez walked off the mound with a six-run lead and a message for Carlos Correa and the rest of the Houston Astros:

Now it's Boston's time.

Tapping his wrist to mimic Correa's Game 1 celebration, Rodriguez rode four more Boston homers — including Kyle Schwarber's record-setting grand slam — to a 12-3 victory Monday night as the Red Sox took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven AL Championship Series.

The taunt drew a rebuke from Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who reminded his pitcher that they still need two more wins to advance to the World Series for the fifth time since 2004. Games 4 and 5 are at Fenway Park on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

One game after J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers each hit grand slams, Schwarber hit a second-inning 3-0 pitch 430 feet into the right field grandstand.

Boston is the first team ever with three slams in a postseason series.

'Electrifying'

"Electrifying. It's unbelievable," outfielder Alex Verdugo said. "You can have a big swing and get four runs in on just that one play — it's huge.

"It's one of the best plays in baseball, man. You give up a grand slam, it takes a lot out of you," he added. "And just to kind of keep stepping on their neck and adding the pressure, it's huge."

Martinez and Devers each homered again, Christian Arroyo also hit one, and Kike Hernandez had two more hits for Boston, which opened 9-0 leads and coasted to victory in back-to-back games. Right fielder Hunter Renfroe ended it with a diving catch of Correa's sinking line drive.

"They count as one [loss]," Astros manager Dusty Baker said. "We come back and win tomorrow and the series is even. You don't like it tonight, but you come back in the morning."

Cora chastised Rodriguez before giving him a hug when he reached the dugout.

"He just told me `Don't do that,"' said Rodriguez, who said he would apologize to Correa if he sees him. "It was something that was part of the moment. But [Cora] just told me, `We don't do that here. Stay humble. Just go out there and play hard every time."'

"Besides that," Cora said, "he was outstanding."

Correa said he "loved every single bit of it."

"It's just the way baseball should trend, moving forward," he added. "You need to let the players have fun."

Boston matched a franchise record with its seventh straight postseason win at home. The Red Sox had 11 hits in all, becoming the first team in major league history to reach double digits six straight times in a single postseason.

Hernandez, who has 18 hits during the playoffs and is batting .500 — both leading the majors — left the game after six innings.

Asked why, Cora said with a smile: "He has been running the bases a lot in the last few days, or weeks, or whatever."

The Red Sox capitalized on two Astros errors and the struggles of Houston starter Jose Urquidy, who gave up six runs, five earned, on five hits and two walks, striking out one in 1 2/3 innings.

Rodriguez, who missed all of last season with COVID-related heart problems, retired the first six batters before running into the trouble in the third, when Tucker made it 9-3.

His outing enabled Cora to keep Nick Pivetta fresh for a Game 4 start.

Altuve struggles

To the delight of the Fenway fans, who targeted him with profane chants for his role in the Astros 2017 cheating scandal, Jose Altuve struggled at the plate and in the field.

A Gold Glove and AL MVP-winner, the three-time batting champion went 0 for 4 and let Arroyo's chopper bounce off his chest for an error with the bases loaded in the second inning. One batter later, Schwarber hit Boston's third grand slam in 11 innings.

The Red Sox, who only had three grand slams during the regular season, matched the 1998 Atlanta Braves as the only clubs to hit three in a single postseason. Boston has 20 homers this postseason, matching the 2004 Astros for the most through the first eight games of the playoffs, per MLB.com.

Altuve also waved at a throw from Martin Maldonado on Hunter Renfroe's stolen base in the third; the error went to the catcher. The throw to third was also wild, but the Astros were saved another error when the ball missed the dugout and bounced off the padding back toward the field.