The American League Championship Series is now a best-of-five ordeal.

The Boston Red Sox evened their battle with the Houston Astros at a game apiece with a 7-5 victory in Sunday's Game 2 at Fenway Park. It was the first loss of the postseason for the defending champions.Jackie Bradley Jr. gave Boston the lead for good with a bases-clearing double in the third inning http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-dustin-pedroia-jersey , Mookie Betts provided insurance by scoring in the seventh and driving in a run in the eighth, and the bullpen allowed one run in 4.1 innings to preserve the win. David Price's Postseason Struggles Loom Over Red SoxPrice was the storyline entering the contest, and he did nothing to change the narrative by allowing four earned runs, five hits and four walks in 4.2 innings. His numbers would have been worse if Matt Barnes didn't strand both inherited runners in the fifth.The southpaw is a five-time All-Star who won the 2012 American League Cy Young, but his postseason struggles are an inescapable chapter of his story. He sported a 3.25 career regular-season ERA and 5.28 career postseason ERA before Sunday's poor showing, which took on a here-we-go-again feel when he walked two in the first inning.Sarah Langs SlangsOnSportsDavid Price has allowed multiple runs in 11 straight postseason starts (thats all of his postseason starts), tying Roger Clemens for the longest such streak in postseason history.Its also already the longest such streak to start a pitchers postseason career.Unindicted Co-conspirator russbengtsonHow is David Price still allowed to wear Jordans in the postseason? Hes 0-9 in 10 starts! Hes basically the Antijordan at this point.Jerry Crasnick jcrasnickDavid Price might change the narrative one of these days. But it won鈥檛 be tonight.MLB MLBMarwin WAY over the monster. #ALCS rnHMPJU913George Springer (two-run double) and Marwin Gonzalez (two-run homer) brought the inevitable damage in the second and third, respectively, which was more of the same after Price allowed three earned runs, three hits, two home runs and two walks in just 1.2 innings of Boston's only loss in the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.Boston is in the middle of a competitive window, and these playoff issues are going to loom beyond just this season. He won't become an unrestricted free agent until 2023 if he exercises his player option, and he figures to do just that since he is due north of $30 million in each of the next four years.As for the current World Series chase, Price's lackluster outings put additional pressure on the bullpen, Rick Porcello鈥攚ho had a 4.75 career playoff ERA before he pitched in relief Sunday鈥攁nd Nathan Eovaldi鈥攚ho has one playoff start on his resume. Even Chris Sale is a question mark after Boston announced its ace was admitted to the hospital for evaluation because of a stomach illness.The Red Sox will be in dire straights if one or more members of the starting rotation struggle and create a situation in which Price takes the hill in a must-win game. Cole's Poor Outing Ramps Up the Pressure on Keuchel Jackie Bradley Jr Jersey , MortonJustin Verlander is a headline-maker for the Astros, but Gerrit Cole formed a dominant one-two punch after coming over from the Pittsburgh Pirates during the offseason. He finished the 2018 campaign with a 2.88 ERA and career-best marks of a 1.03 WHIP and 276 strikeouts and continued his success by allowing just one earned run with 12 strikeouts in seven innings in the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians.However, he wasn't the same force Sunday and allowed five runs (four earned), six hits and two walks while striking out five in six innings. He hurt himself with a throwing error before Rafael Devers' RBI single in the first inning made it 2-0, but Bradley's hit in the third was the dagger.MLB MLBJBJ! The RedSox strike back. #ALCS 80ned6VT7cZachary quot;Doomquot; Rymer zachrymerRed Sox have as many hits through one inning of Game 2 as they did through nine innings in Game 1.The lackluster showing changed the formula for the Astros against the best offense in all of baseball. Houston was in a position where Verlander and Cole could have clinched a spot in the World Series by winning all four of their combined starts, but Dallas Keuchel or Charlie Morton will need to deliver to keep the chances of a back-to-back title alive.That won't be an easy task considering the Red Sox led all of baseball in runs (876), hits (1,509), doubles (355), batting average (.268), on-base percentage (.339) and slugging percentage (.453) and have momentum after beating Cole.Keuchel may not be on the level of Verlander or Cole this year, but he won the 2015 AL Cy Young and beat the Red Sox in last year's ALDS. He also earned a win over the Indians in this year's ALDS, allowing two earned runs in five innings, and has a 3.28 ERA in nine playoff appearances.He is also well-positioned as a left-hander to neutralize Devers, Andrew Benintendi and Bradley Roger Clemens Jersey , who all tallied RBI from the left side of the plate in Sunday's win.As for Morton, his next playoff appearance will be his first this year, but he made four postseason starts during last year's World Series run and finished with a career-best 3.13 ERA during the 2018 season.Keuchel and Morton will be tasked with facing a Boston offense that is daunting beyond just the MVP candidates in Betts and J.D. Martinez. The contributions of Devers, Benintendi and Bradley underscore how dangerous the Red Sox are throughout a lineup that will continue to put pressure on the Houston starters.Someone besides Verlander and Cole will need to be cool under that pressure to clinch another American League championship.What's Next?The series shifts to Houston for Tuesday's Game 3, where an Astros team that was 46-35 at home and 57-24 on the road during the regular season will try to capitalize on home-field advantage. HOUSTON (AP) — Edwin Diaz was supposed to be off on Sunday after earning saves in each of the last three games for the Seattle Mariners.Instead, after the Mariners tied the Houston Astros in the ninth inning, the All-Star closer told bullpen coach Brian De Lunas to call the dugout to say that he wanted to try to make it four in a row.Ryon Healy hit a tying home run with two outs in the ninth, Mitch Haniger delivered an RBI double in the 10th and Diaz finished up as the Mariners beat Houston 4-3 to sweep a four-game series from the AL West leaders.Diaz allowed one hit in a scoreless 10th for his major league-high 46th save. Manager Scott Servais was pleased but not surprised that Diaz offered to help out on Sunday.“Sometimes you’ve got to do that,” he said. “That’s how Eddie’s wired and how this team is wired.”It’s the first time in franchise history that Seattle swept a four-game series from the Astros. The third-place Mariners pulled within four games of Houston.“It feels like a really bad weekend,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. “Which is all it is … but we’ll be fine. This is not something we can’t overcome.”Healy loved that Diaz volunteered to pitch in the 10th.“I got larger goosebumps after hearing that than after I hit the homer, to be honest,” he said.Healy’s solo drive off Hector Rondon made it 3-all. Pinch-hitter Dee Gordon singled against Roberto Osuna (1-1) with one out in the 10th, and the speedster easily scored on Haniger’s double that skipped down the left field line.“That’s the defending world champions. We’re excited,” Gordon said. “That was a big run for us there in the 10th inning. We definitely could have laid down and let them walk us off, but we didn’t.”Zach Duke (5-4) pitched 1 1/3 innings for the win.The Astros had managed just three singles and trailed 2-0 entering the eighth when James Pazos hit Kyle Tucker with a pitch. Pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel singled before Alex Bregman’s single off Nick Vincent with one out cut the lead to 2-1.Carlos Correa then hit an RBI single to tie it. It was his first hit since coming off the disabled list on Friday after missing six weeks with a sore back. A sacrifice fly by Evan Gattis scored Bregman to put Houston on top.Houston starter Dallas Keuchel allowed seven hits and two runs — one earned — in seven innings.The Mariners got a solid start from Erasmo Ramirez Andrew Benintendi Jersey , who gave up just three hits in five scoreless innings in his first game since April 27.Ramirez came off the disabled list before the game to make his third start of the season after sitting out more than three months with a shoulder injury. He took Felix Hernandez’s spot in the rotation after the one-time ace was demoted to the bullpen on Thursday night after going 0-4 in his last five starts in a season where he’s posted a career-high 5.73 ERA.Healy got the Mariners on the board with an RBI single in the second.Mike Zunino’s solo homer made it 2-0 in the seventh.TRAINER’S ROOMAstros: Hinch said OF Jake Marisnick, who went on the disabled list with a groin injury on Saturday, is expected to be out several weeks. … C Brian McCann, who has been out since June 30 with a knee injury which required surgery, could begin a rehabilitation assignment next week.RELIEF DEBUT DELAYEDHernandez, who has made 398 career starts, has been in the bullpen for four games but has yet to make his first career relief appearance. It looked like he’d get in on Sunday when he warmed up two different times, but after the game turned, he sat back down.THEY SAID ITCorrea on the team’s recent struggles: “We’re going to come through and get out of this scuffle and play great baseball once again. We have great hitters in the lineup that can do a lot of damage. It’s just about clicking and putting great at-bats together.”UP NEXTMariners: Seattle opens a three-game series at Oakland on Monday with LHP Marco Gonzales on the mound. Gonzales, who won five straight from June 29-July 29, looks to get back on track after losing his last two starts.Astros: The Astros are off on Monday before Justin Verlander is scheduled to start in the opener of a two-game interleague series against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night. Verlander will try again to get his 200th win after he allowed six runs in two innings of his last start before being ejected for arguing about a balk in an 8-6 loss to the Mariners.