The Boston Red Sox have evened up the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros with a 9-5 victory in Game 2 at Minute Maid Park.

Grand slams by J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers put Boston in front 8-0 after just two innings. It was the first time in postseason history that a team hit two grand slams in the same game.

Nathan Eovaldi pitched 5 1/3 innings for the win, allowing three runs on three hits to pick up the win. 

Houston starter Luis Garcia lasted just an inning plus, allowing five runs and suffering the loss before exiting with a knee injury. His status for the rest of the series is uncertain.

Story of the game

In the short time Garcia was in the game, he was ineffective, allowing a leadoff double to Kyle Schwarber, walking Devers and Alex Verdugo before Martinez took a belt-high fastball the other way to make it 4-0 Boston.

Kevin Plawecki led off the top of the second with a walk and manager Dusty Baker came out with the trainer to check on Garcia. After evaluation, he was removed and replaced by Jake Odorizzi.

Two more men reached base and Devers stepped up to take a middle-in cutter down the right-field ine, just keeping it fair to double the Red Sox lead and create a bit of playoff history.

Kike Hernandez continued his red-hot postseason with his fifth long ball in six playoff games in the fourth inning to push the lead to 9-0. Eovaldi dominated the Astros lineup early on, allowing just a single to Alex Bregman in the third.

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The Boston ace would surrender two runs in the bottom of the fourth as Houston put together a two-out rally, Yordan Alvarez drawing a walk, Carlos Correa singling and Kyle Tucker driving them both in with a double. Yuli Gurriel followed with a single and it was a 9-3 game.

After an Alvarez one-out single in the sixth, Eovaldi was lifted for Adam Ottavino and after he allowed a single and a stolen base, he got out of trouble by inducing a ground ball from Gurriel. 

Garrett Whitlock pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just a single in the seventh and despite solo home runs from Gurriel and Jason Castro off of Darwinzon Hernandez in the ninth, Ryan Brasier came on to close out the game.

Series shifts to Boston

The next three games will be at Fenway Park, starting Monday night with Game 3. Houston will send Jose Urquidy to the monud for his first start of the playoffs.

Boston will counter with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, making his third start of the postseason. He pitched 6 2/3 innings in two starts in the ALDS against Tampa Bay, including the clinching Game 4.

FOX will broadcast the game with Joe Buck doing the play-by-play, John Smoltz as the color analyst and Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci handling on-field duties. First pitched is scheduled for 8:08pm Eastern time.

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