NEW YORK (AP) — Brock Holt had one thing in mind: Joe Carter Jersey , the game was decided long ago. And everything else went Boston’s way all night, so why not this?The part-time utilityman put the finishing touch on a Red Sox blowout, becoming the first player to hit for the cycle in a postseason game as Boston routed the New York Yankees 16-1 on Monday to seize a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five AL Division Series.“This one I’ll remember for a long time,” said Holt, unaware of his achievement until told by a television reporter right after the final out. “Obviously, you don’t go into the game expecting to make history or do anything like that, let alone score 16 runs.”Andrew Benintendi lined a three-run double and Holt tripled home two more in a seven-run fourth inning that quickly turned the latest playoff matchup between these longtime rivals into a laugher. Handed a big early lead, Nathan Eovaldi shut down his former team during New York’s most lopsided defeat in 396 postseason games.“An embarrassing day,” shortstop Didi Gregorius said.Game 4 is Tuesday night in the Bronx, where the 108-win Red Sox can put away the wild-card Yankees for good and advance to the AL Championship Series against Houston. Rick Porcello is scheduled to pitch against New York lefty CC Sabathia.Boston battered an ineffective Luis Severino and silenced a charged-up Yankee Stadium crowd that emptied out fast on a night when Red Sox rookie manager Alex Cora made all the right moves.By the ninth, backup catcher Austin Romine was on the mound for New York and he gave up a two-run homer to Holt that completed his cycle .“You get a little antsy when a position player is on the mound. I told everyone, ‘Get me up. I need a home run for a cycle,'” Holt said. “I scooted up in the box a little bit, and I was going to be swinging at anything and try to hook anything. Obviously, you don’t expect to hit a home run, but I was trying to. I was trying to hit a home run. That’s probably the first time I’ve ever tried to do that. I rounded the bases, and seeing everyone going nuts in the dugout was a pretty cool moment for me.”His teammates, too.“He wasn’t shy about it,” Benintendi said. “Everybody was rooting for him.”Boosted by noisy fans in their homer-friendly ballpark, the Yankees entered 7-0 at home the past two postseasons — against out-of-division opponents. But the Red Sox, frequent visitors who clinched the AL East crown at Yankee Stadium just 2½ weeks ago, were hardly intimidated.“I think from pitch 1, we let them know that we were here,” Cora said.Mookie Betts, in fact, hit a 405-foot flyout to the center-field warning track to begin the game.Making his first playoff start this year, Holt opened the fourth with a single off Severino and capped the 26-minute outburst with a triple to right field. The 2015 All-Star also doubled home a run in the eighth and finished with five RBIs.Holt also hit for the cycle against Atlanta on June 6, 2015.“He’s been swinging the bat well for a while now,” Cora said. “We felt the matchup was good for him.”Every starter had at least one hit for the Red Sox, who piled up 18 in all. The only time they scored more runs in the postseason was a 23-7 win over Cleveland in 1999.Eovaldi pitched for the Yankees from 2015-16 before injuring his elbow, which required a second Tommy John surgery. Boston acquired him from Tampa Bay in July and the hard-throwing righty compiled a 1.93 ERA in four starts against New York this season — three with the Red Sox.Bumped up a day in front of Porcello http://www.indiansfanproshop.com/authentic-b.j.-upton-jersey , he delivered a gem in his first postseason appearance. Eovaldi allowed one run and five hits in seven innings, throwing 72 of 97 pitches for strikes.“I was just trying to use their aggressiveness against them and try and get some quick outs,” Eovaldi said. “It was a special moment for me. I don’t think it’s really quite settled in yet.”Going with Eovaldi was one of several choices that paid off for Cora.Looking to play left-handed hitters against Severino, the first-year skipper inserted Holt at second base and Rafael Devers at third. Christian Vazquez started at catcher over Sandy Leon.Devers singled twice, stole a base, scored two runs and knocked in another. Vazquez’s infield single off Severino’s glove drove in the first run.Benintendi, already a Yankees nemesis, was on base four times and scored twice. Betts also scored two runs and drove in two.“It just kind of shows you what kind of team we have and that we could explode at any minute,” Betts said.TBS reported Severino began warming up only 10 minutes before the game, and he certainly looked out of sorts from the start in misty weather. He left with the bases loaded and nobody out in the fourth and was charged with six runs and seven hits.“He got his normal pitches routine,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “It wasn’t an issue.”STRANGE SIGHTThe only other position player to pitch in a postseason game was Toronto infielder Cliff Pennington against Kansas City in the 2015 AL Championship Series.IF AT FIRSTThere were four replay challenges in the first four innings — all involving calls by first base umpire Angel Hernandez. Three were overturned.TRAINER’S ROOMRed Sox: 1B Mitch Moreland sat out after leaving Game 2 when he hurt his right hamstring running the bases. “Mitch is available, but he’s not 100 percent,” Cora said. Steve Pearce played first and had an RBI single in the fourth.Yankees: CF Aaron Hicks remained out of the lineup after missing Game 2 with tightness in his right hamstring, which forced him from the series opener Friday. Boone said Hicks was doing “significantly better,” and sitting him was a much more difficult decision than it was Saturday. Brett Gardner was back in center, but Boone said he wouldn’t hesitate to use Hicks in any role off the bench.UP NEXTRed Sox: Porcello (17-7, 4.28 ERA) got two late outs in relief during the series opener last Friday, so his start was pushed back a day to Game 4. The 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner, who grew up a Mets fan in nearby New Jersey, was 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA in three starts against the Yankees this year — including a one-hitter on just 86 pitches Aug. 3 at Fenway Park. He is 0-3 with a 5.33 ERA in 12 career postseason outings, including four starts.Yankees: The 38-year-old Sabathia (9-7, 3.65) will be on 11 days’ rest when he makes his 23rd postseason start. The big lefty was ejected from his last regular-season outing for hitting Tampa Bay catcher Jesus Sucre with a pitch during a testy game between division rivals on Sept. 27. Sabathia appealed a five-game suspension from Major League Baseball that would not take effect until next season. He said Monday he definitely wants to play in 2019 — even if it’s not for the Yankees. With Josh James recently injured, should Forrest Whitley be his replacement?"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Houston Astros NewsGame ThreadsHouston Astros Minor LeaguesAstros Game DayPodcastsShould Forrest Whitley take the Astros open rotation spot? New,34commentsWith Josh James recently injured, should Forrest Whitley be his replacement? CSTShareTweetShareShareShould Forrest Whitley take the Astros open rotation spot? Jeff Roberson/APShould Forrest Whitley be the Astros 5th Starter? As most of you know, it was recently announced that Josh James was the latest victim of “discomfort”. In reality, it was announced that he had strained his quad muscle, and in the best case scenario, would now be fortifying the bullpen instead of taking over the 5th rotation spot to start the year. Coinciding with that, there’s been a bit of a vocal uprising that Forrest Whitley should be in the MLB.I can see some aspects of both sides of the argument. I mean he is the #1 Pitching Prospect in all of baseball. So before we make any hasty decisions, let’s take a step back and look at who Forrest Whitley is. The Runner SportsWho is Forrest Whitley? Whitley Corey Kluber Jersey , 21, is a monstrous 6’7 right handed pitcher, that just prior to the draft dropped from 260 to 225lbs, and is most recently reported at 195 lbs. Whitley was the 17th overall draft pick out of San Antonio TX in 2016. It looks like a complete and total steal. Fangraphs recently had this to say about him:“Whitley has five — count ’em five — excellent pitches, including one of the minors’ highest curveball spin rates and best changeups. He’s also a well-made 6-foot-7 and his upper-90s fastball motors toward the plate at an angle that’s tough for hitters to square.”It’s a great read, but here was the other item that further pushes the envelope of him being ready: “His stuff was wholly intact in Arizona, as Whitley sat 93-97 and touched 99. His apparitional changeup haunts both left and right-handed hitters, disappearing beneath barrels as it approaches the plate. Whitley’s array of breaking stuff is well-designed. His power 12-6 curveball honors his Texas heritage but has been de-emphasized as an out pitch in deference to his tilting, mid-80s slider. He has the best collection of stuff in the minor leagues, and might have been in the big leagues last year if not for various setbacks.”Then Whitley had his debut in Spring Training, and needless to say, he was absolutely dominant.So I know what you must be thinking. We have a recently vacated spot in our rotation, and the top prospect in baseball, seems like a match made in heaven. Before we get too excited, let’s keep our expectations in check. Last year, Whitley was absolutely dominant in the time he did get to play in the minors, and even more so in the Arizona Fall League. But even still, we’re talking about very limited exposure to professional development, Whitley hasn’t even been to AAA. In fact, he only has a whopping 40 IP in AA. Now, a player skipping AAA isn’t unheard of, even with a limited amount of time in AA. You don’t have to look back far in Astros history to find a similar developmental path, with the Astros promoting Lance McCullers Jr from AA after 32 IP. Up to this point in the article, it’s hard to fault anyone from thinking that Whitley is the answer to our open 5th spot. And truthfully, there are arguments for it. But unfortunately, I can’t imagine the Astros pulling the trigger or even myself personally recommending it. I can sit here and argue the developmental aspects, which warrant a discussion on their own, especially with considerations to Whitley’s limited exposure to professional baseball. You can argue that rushing him could result in numerous negative aspects given the mental nature of the game of baseball. But honestly, it boils down to Whitley not being NEEDED today, when he can personally benefit from added development, and the Astros can benefit from the added control.I mentioned Lance McCullers Ricky Vaughn Jersey , who seems like an apt comparison considering his AA experience and age at the time of his call up. McCullers was called up May 15th, 2015. He replaced Oberholtzer due to blister issues, all of which seems very relevant. The difference? The Astros were off to a surprisingly hot start being 23-13 on May 15th, up 4.5 games in a division race no one expected them to win. Without McCullers, the Astros are very unlikely to have sniffed the playoffs, squeaking in as a Wild Card Team that year. This year, the Astros are in a completely different place. Fangraphs projects the Astros to come in at 94-68, a full 10 games above the Angels, and the Athletics being the only team scraping by to a .500 record. Obviously, projections are “educated best guesses”, and by no means fool proof. With that said, a 10 game window is a significant one, which is why Vegas has the Astros with the highest odds for the playoffs. Justin Verlander pranked Whitley after a “Daddy’s back” tweetChandler RomeTruthfully, the reason I personally can’t see the move happening boils down to control. People get upset about service time manipulation, but honestly, Whitley actually SHOULD spend more time in the minors. In his scenario, not only is it justified, but it aligns well with him potentially being called up at the best time later this year. So let’s dig in a little deeper to the Service Time rules. I’m not an expert, so if someone sees an aspect I misrepresented, feel free to correct it. Major League seasons consist of 187 days, comparatively service time considers 172 days on the active roster as a full year. Players are under club control for 6 years, so if a player played 5 full seasons and 171 days, the club would control them for an additional year. So for the first factor in the service time considerations – literally 16 days less time on the roster would give the Astros an entire additional year of Whitley before he becomes a free agent. The second aspect to consider is “Super-Two” status. This one is slightly more confusing, since unlike the Free Agency side, the timelines are not carved into stone. Super-Two literally grants players an additional year of Arbitration resulting in far larger pay-outs based on being in the top 22% of service time for players with over 2 years of service time. Since the deadline is based on decisions of all the clubs in baseball, it is hard to predict the exact “cut off” date, but generally June is considered the same time to call up a player to avoid Super Two status. Sorry, enough of the rules on service time. While I’m not advocating for service time manipulation, it’d be foolish to not take it into consideration when making a decision on calling up the best pitching prospect in baseball. Even if that were not the case, there’s a legitimate argument that additional seasoning in the minors would be beneficial for Whitley. They could continue utilizing the piggy-back starter system to limit his innings to keep him fresh and available for the Playoffs. Let me know your thoughts. Do you think Whitley is ready? Would you have him fill the 5th slot?