The Houston Astros continued their offensive explosion from Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Wednesday, as they defeated the Boston Red Sox 9-1 in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Starting Astros pitcher Framber Valdez threw eight innings, allowing only one run and three hits as Houston silenced the scorching bats for Boston for the second game in a row. It was a welcome sight for manager Dusty Baker who watched his starters go a combined 6 2/3 innings in the previous four games.

“It's very important,” said Baker when asked about the number of innings pitched by Valdez. “It puts us in a pretty good position in our bullpen, especially with the day off tomorrow. So, a lot of these guys will have two days off versus just one day off.

Designated hitter Yordan Alvarez used the example from teammate Alex Bregman who homered in his first at-bat to give the Astros the lead in Game 4. He sent the first pitch delivered to him by Boston starter Chris Sale over the left-field wall to put the Astros up 1-0 in the top of the second inning.

That lead would stand for five innings until Alvarez came back to the plate with Jose Altuve and Michael Brantley on base with one out. He would bring both runners home with a double to increase the lead to 3-0. He would be the last batter that Sale would face before being sent to the dugout by Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

“I mean, he is a big boy in the middle, and, you know, he was just attacking,” Baker said about Alvarez. “He was ready to swing, and nobody else could hit him [Sale], but Alvarez had him, and if you have one guy in the lineup that comes up at the right time, it makes all the difference in the world.”

Boston reliever Ryan Brasier struck out Carlos Correa before giving up an RBI double to A.L. Batting Champion Yuli Gurriel and a two-run single to Jose Siri as the Astros lead would go to 6-0. Houston tacked on three more runs in the game. That was enough run support for reliever Ryne Stanek to finish Boston off in the ninth inning.

Houston will head back home for Game 6 on Friday and if necessary, Game 7 at Minute Maid Park.