The Red Sox claimed 108 regular-season wins because they executed well in so many facets of the game. On Saturday night, in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, they did just enough self-inflicted harm to drop the series opener to the Astros, 7-2, at Fenway Park.
Though the Red Sox allowed just three runs on two hits through eight innings before Brandon Workman got hammered for four runs in the ninth, Sox pitchers walked 10 (their most in a nine-inning playoff game) and hit three batters. The Red Sox committed one error that led to an unearned run, and failed to make a play that could have prevented two more. And in their few opportunities with runners in scoring position, their lineup came up empty, going 0 for 3.
That combination rarely will yield a win, and didn’t on Saturday, as the Red Sox fell to the defending champions. So what now?
The home team has lost Game 1 of a League Championship Series 44 times. Of those, 15 (34 percent) advanced to the World Series, including 11 of 29 (38 percent) since the adoption of the best-of-seven format. The most recent team to pull the trick was the 2013 Red Sox, who lost Game 1 of the ALCS to the Tigers but came back to win the series in six games.
However, that silver lining comes with a caveat: There’s a lot riding on the shoulders of David Price in Game 2. In the history of the seven-game LCS, no team that fell behind 0-2 at home has come back to reach the World Series. The Red Sox likely would prefer not to try to become the first.
Other Game 1 takeaways:
■ Questions now loom over Sale: Chris Sale only gave up one hit in four innings, and he limited the Astros to two runs by staying on the edges of the strike zone, even if it meant some walks. In so doing, his typical competitiveness was evident. But that was just about the only thing about Sale that was typical.
The lefthander’s four-seam velocity was down considerably (92.0 m.p.h. average). And for lengthy stretches of the second and third innings, he lost the feel for his slider, helping to contribute to his four-walk yield — tied for the most walks he’s issued as a member of the Red Sox.
The outing raises many of the same questions as did Sale’s final start of the regular season against the Orioles, when diminished velocity rendered him an unknown entering the postseason. Sale likewise represents an uncertainty heading forward in the ALCS.
■ Mookie Betts hit the ball well — but couldn’t deliver an MVP moment: Mookie Betts led off the game with a single to right-center against Justin Verlander, and made hard contact in all four plate appearances. But he grounded to third baseman Alex Bregman in each of his last three at-bats, most notably with a chance to tilt the scales in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Verlander had just walked in the first Red Sox run and was hanging onto the game by his fingernails. Betts tried to ambush the veteran, swinging at a 98-m.p.h. first-pitch fastball. Verlander’s heater beat Betts to the spot, and his hard grounder found Bregman, who forced the lead runner at the plate. While the Red Sox scored one more run in the inning (thanks to a wild pitch) to tie the game, their best player couldn’t deliver the game-breaking knock that the Red Sox needed.
■ A yearlong defensive weakness got exposed: Eduardo Nunez made a terrific play to close out the ALDS against the Yankees, but in Game 1 of the ALCS, his defensive shortcomings proved costly. George Springer’s two-run single was hit close enough to Nunez that it wouldn’t have been surprising to see him make the play; instead, it sneaked under his dive to give the Astros their early lead.
And in the top of the sixth, with a runner on first and no outs, Nunez botched a Yuli Gurriel chopper for an E5. The error extended the inning to permit Carlos Correa to fight off a Joe Kelly 100-m.p.h. fastball for a two-out RBI single. Nunez did later make a strong defensive play, but as much as he’s viewed as a more reliable defensive option right now than Rafael Devers, that claim reflects more on Devers’s struggles than on Nunez’s abilities at the position. The Sox’ shortcomings at the position stood out dramatically in contrast to the defensive excellence of Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, who made a number of impressive plays.
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him on twitter at @alexspeier.