Kyle Schwarber was responsible for four of six runs scored by the Boston Red Sox in the second inning of Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. But when he stepped up to the plate, he certainly wasn’t expecting to cross the plate himself.
Schwarber took his second at-bat in the game at a pretty low-leverage moment, when you really think about it. It was only the second inning and the Red Sox already were up 2-0. With the bases loaded and one out, a hard-hit single would have resulted in at least a run, but he launched a 93 mph fastball from Houston Astros starter José Urquidy to right field, instead.
The first baseman shed light on his mindset at the plate following Boston’s 12-3 victory.
“I definitely wasn’t thinking home run, but I was thinking don’t be late and get it in the air,” Schwarber said after the win, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “You try and get at least one. Not going up there thinking home run, that could turn into a pop-up or something like that. So just trying to not be late. You know a heater’s coming there, and just go from there.”
Judging by that mindset, you have to imagine that he wasn’t thinking he would ignite the offense, which finished with four home runs and 12 runs on 11 hits.
