Fenway Park crowd loses it as Boston Red Sox make baseball history

A feat rarely seen in baseball history sent the crowd at one of America’s most famous stadiums absolutely berserk in wild scenes.

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 18: Kyle Schwarber #18 of the Boston Red Sox celebrates with Christian Arroyo #39 after Schwarber hit a grand slam home run against the Houston Astros in the second inning of Game Three of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park on October 18, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Kyle Schwarber blasted a record-breaking third grand slam as the Boston Red Sox routed the Houston Astros 12-3 to open up a 2-1 lead in baseball’s American League Championship Series on Tuesday (AEDT).

Schwarber’s 131-metre blast in the bottom of the second inning at Fenway Park made the Red Sox just the second team in baseball history to hit three grand slams in a single postseason series.

Watch live coverage of the MLB Post-Season including every game of the World Series with ESPN on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial >

In baseball, a grand slam is when all three bases are loaded and the batter hits a home run, effectively allowing four runs to be scored for their team.

The Red Sox join the 1998 Atlanta Braves as the only team to achieve the feat three times in a postseason.

The packed crowd at Fenway Park, one of the world’s most iconic baseball stadiums, was rocking and went absolutely berserk when Schwarber sealed the grand slam.

GRAND SLAM EARLY IN GAME 3 💥

(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/hVktVrxyJ6

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 19, 2021

The Schwarber Special pic.twitter.com/K4r6L2Ckxc

— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 19, 2021

Kyle Schwarber grand slam from the aux box. Pandemonium at Fenway. pic.twitter.com/dPDW3HIRYf

— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) October 19, 2021

Fenway is an electric factory. What an incredible crowd

— Dan Madigan (@dmad1433) October 19, 2021

Fenway looks just a little fun right now 👀 #MLBPostseason

— Anthony Ranaudo (@anthony_ranaudo) October 19, 2021

“That gave me a headache and I loved it,” Schwarber said after the game of the boisterous crowd.

“I loved every second of it. This is what you live for, right? This is it.

“These are moments that you are never going to forget as a player.

“This is what we live for. We live to be in the postseason. When you get that first taste, that first experience, you want to keep coming. You want more.

“Especially in this place, where it’s just rocking the whole time and it’s rowdy, and they’re in tune to every single pitch and every run matters. It’s something that you’re not going to forget, that’s for sure.

“To have the atmosphere like that, we feed off that, and that’s only going to help us be better. And it’s going to help us to where we want to be.”

It was a case of deja vu for the Astros, who saw J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers bludgeon grand slams for Boston in game two in Houston on Sunday in a 9-5 victory.

“Offensively this is the best we’ve been all season — they’re locked in right now,” Boston manager Alex Cora said after the win.

The epic crowd gave Kyle Schwarber a headache. Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP

“Today was the closest we’ve been to a perfect game to be honest with you. We pitched well, played great defence, ran the bases. Now we turn the page and get ready for tomorrow.”

After a scoreless first inning, the Red Sox roared into the lead in a devastating second inning burst after loading the bases.

Christian Vazquez’s single allowed Alex Verdugo to score and then Christian Arroyo reached after a fielding blunder by Astros star Jose Altuve sent J.D. Martinez over home plate for a 2-0 lead.

Altuve’s fumble was especially costly, potentially squandering a double-play to keep the innings alive and leave Boston with the bases loaded.

That proved too good an opportunity for Schwarber to pass up, and the 28-year-old outfielder duly pounced on the opportunity, electrifying Fenway with a mammoth shot deep into right field to leave the Sox 6-0 up.

Game four in the best-of-seven series takes place in Boston on Wednesday.

The winner will face either the Atlanta Braves or Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

With AFP