Red Sox Power Up, Again and Again, to Even Series With Astros

Grand slams in consecutive innings set the tone in a game that dragged on past four hours but was never in doubt.

HOUSTON — Since late last season, whenever a Boston Red Sox player smashes a home run, he plops down afterward in a metal laundry cart and gets pushed the length of the cramped dugout through a receiving line of high fives. It’s a silly but unique ritual, and the players all seem to love it.

In Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros, the Red Sox were in danger of wearing out their cart.

Six batters into the game, they celebrated a grand slam by designated hitter J.D. Martinez. Six batters later, they did it again, this time for third baseman Rafael Devers, who also hit a grand slam. The Red Sox thus became the first team in postseason history with multiple such blasts in the same game.