After winning back-to-back AL East titles for the first time in team history, the Red Sox find themselves down 0-2 in their ALDS series against the Houston Astros. On the brink of elimination, the team desperately needs to channel something beyond what they’ve shown if they want their season to continue past Sunday.
“We can’t do a whole lot of things that they can do, but we can do what we can do,” Mookie Betts told reporters on Saturday. “What we do got us in the playoffs, and I’m pretty sure it can win us the World Series, too.”
Retired first baseman Kevin Millar and the ’04 Red Sox know a thing or two about extending their postseason while having the odds stacked against them. Millar, who played three seasons in Boston, told Boston.com that coming back from 0-3 down to beat the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS was “the greatest feeling” he’s had in his 12-year professional career.
“A year prior, we had guys crying,” he said, remembering the devastating feeling of losing Game 7 at Yankee Stadium in the 2003 ALCS. “A year later, we had guys pounding their heads in celebration.”
The Red Sox never won a division championship during his brief tenure with the team, but advanced to the playoffs each year with a wild card berth. According to Millar, their regular season performance didn’t impact their postseason play. Viewing them as two separate entities, he believes that playoff baseball is “the way the game is supposed to be played.”
“All the stats, all the individual numbers go out the window,” the 46-year-old said, when asked about the differences between the two types of atmospheres.
His statement rang true in Game 1 of the Boston-Houston series, but perhaps not in the way the Red Sox would have hoped. Chris Sale, who Millar agrees is “one of the best pitchers” in baseball, gave the team a rather unpropitious start on Thursday, despite posting nearly impeccable regular-season numbers. But as someone whose been in their shoes, Millar doesn’t think the 0-2 hole shouldn’t faze the Sox.