BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox will play baseball for at least one more day.

Spurred by three RBI apiece from Rafael Devers, Hanley Ramirez and Jackie Bradley Jr. and four scoreless relief innings by David Price, the Red Sox beat the Houston Astros 10-3 Sunday at Fenway Park in Game 3 of the American League division series.

Mookie Betts also contributed with several sprints to balls in right field, including a catch that saved a three-run homer in the second inning.

Devers’ two-run homer in the third inning gave Boston a 4-3 lead.

“They left a pitch over the plate and he put a beautiful swing on it,” Red Sox Manager John Farrell said.

Boston broke the game open with six runs in the seventh inning, led by Ramirez’s two-run double and Bradley’s three-run homer off the glove of right fielder Josh Reddick.

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Houston still leads the best-of-five series, 2-1, and can clinch it Monday when the teams meet again at Fenway. Rick Porcello will start for Boston, Charlie Morton for Houston. The game is scheduled for 1:08 p.m.

Price entered the game in the fourth inning. He allowed a runner in each of his four innings – two in the fifth – but escaped without allowing a big hit.

“I know David. He is a machine,” Ramirez said. “He went out there and did his job.

It was Price’s longest relief effort – 57 pitches. He struck out Marwin Gonzalez with a 95 mph elevated fastball to end the seventh.

“The story of this one is David Price, clearly,” Farrell said.

Boston got plenty of insurance in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded, Ramirez turned on a fastball and doubled to left-center to extend the lead to 6-3. Ramirez finished 4 for 4.

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Devers followed with a single to left for his third RBI. One out later, Bradley hit a line drive toward the right-field foul pole, and the ball deflected off Reddick’s glove and into the stands to make it 10-3.

The game began ominously for Boston, with the Astros jumping on Red Sox starter Doug Fister for three runs in the first inning, including Carlos Correa’s two-run homer. It was the third straight game that Houston scored multiple runs in the first inning.

With two runners on and one out in the second inning, Joe Kelly relieved Fister. With two outs, Josh Reddick swatted a ball toward the short right-field wall, but Betts hauled it in with his back to the field, preventing a home run.

“Going to 6-0 really would have put them in a hole,” Astros Manager A.J. Hinch said.

Betts ran down other line drives and charged in on others.

“We talk about the center-field range of our right fielders. He has it,” Farrell said.

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But Boston still needed to hit.

The Red Sox loaded the bases in the second with no outs but managed only one run, on an RBI single by Sandy Leon.

After Kelly pitched a scoreless third, the Red Sox put together a two-out rally against Houston starter Brad Peacock. Mitch Moreland (3 for 5) doubled, and Ramirez singled him home.

Left-hander Francisco Liriano (0-1) relieved to face Devers. Liriano’s 1-0 slider was on the outer half of the plate, and Devers pounced, sending it over the Red Sox bullpen for a 4-3 lead.

“We felt really good about Liriano, the way his power should work,” Hinch said. “He hung a slider. It didn’t work out.”

Devers, 20, became the youngest Red Sox player to homer in the postseason.

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The Red Sox then turned to Price, who threw 38 pitches over 2 2/3 innings in Game 2 on Friday.

Even when Price reached 42 pitches after his third inning, the Boston bullpen remained quiet. Farrell was going to ride Price as long as possible. He said Price would have gone out for the eighth if he was needed. He wasn’t.

Addison Reed pitched the eighth, and Carson Smith finished up in the ninth.

NOTE: Monday’s game is in question because of a forecast for rain. “We have been watching the Weather Channel for a couple of months now, so that’s not unusual,” said Hinch, referencing Hurricane Harvey, which flooded Houston.

Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: ClearTheBases


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