Two games ago, the Red Sox thumped the Astros, 12–3, in Game 3 at Fenway Park, and it looked like this series was heading for a swift conclusion.
Houston's pitching staff was in shambles, with an injury to No. 1 starter Lance McCullers Jr. and a beleaguered bullpen that would have to carry it through Game 4.
Things were so rough for the Astros that our coverage of the Monday night Boston Massacre the next day featured two particularly bleak stories for Houston. The first, Can Anybody Stop the Red Sox? by Tom Verducci, went into depth on Boston’s batting barrage.