Major League Baseball

MLB playoffs top plays: Red Sox cruise, Braves walk off in Saturday's ALCS and NLCS

Updated Oct. 16, 2021 11:34 p.m. ET

Saturday's MLB playoff slate brought fans two action-packed matchups as baseball's final four got fully underway.

The Boston Red Sox responded to their loss in Game 1 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros in emphatic fashion, winning Game 2 9-5 and making history in the process.

They became the first MLB team to hit two grand slams in one playoff game, with those eight runs powering them to tie the series 1-1.

In the NLCS, the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers traded runs in the early going of Game 1 and stayed knotted up late before the Braves won it on a walk-off.

Here are the top plays from Saturday:

Atlanta Braves 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 2 (ATL leads 1-0)

The return

Before Game 1 of the NLCS, the Braves welcomed back All-Star Ronald Acuña Jr., whose season ended in July due to a torn ACL.

Acuña's return electrified the Atlanta crowd, and the Braves soon jumped to a 1-0 lead.

Short-lived

The Dodgers responded in the top of the second, when A.J. Pollock hit a double before an RBI single from Chris Taylor tied the game.

Fireworks in the fourth inning

L.A. took the lead in the top of the fourth via a Will Smith home run. It was Smith's third home run of the postseason.

The Braves got their revenge in the bottom of the inning, when Austin Riley hit a solo home run with two outs to tie the game 2-2.

Pitchers' duel

From there, it was a pitching showcase, as things stayed at 2-2 through the eighth.

Breaking through

In the ninth, the Dodgers might've had something going, but Taylor got caught in a run-down.

Finally, in the bottom of the frame, Ozzie Albies singled and stole second, and then Riley came through with a base hit to walk it off.

Boston Red Sox 9, Houston Astros 5 (tied 1-1)

Grand opening

The Red Sox loaded the bases in the first inning, and J.D. Martinez made sure they didn't leave anyone on base with a grand slam to give his team an early 4-0 lead.

How about another?

For the first time in playoff history, a team hit multiple grand slams in one game. After Martinez's slam in the first, Rafael Devers followed suit in the second, carving out an 8-0 lead for the Sox.

Teeing off

Kiké Hernandez needed less than two full games to hit three home runs in this ALCS. His latest came in the fourth inning and gave the Red Sox a 9-0 lead.

On the board

Houston began to cut into Boston's lead in the bottom of the fourth. Kyle Tucker and Yuli Gurriel provided an offensive boost, combining to bring in three runs for the Astros.

All she wrote

The Astros added two more runs in the bottom of the ninth with solo homers from Gurriel and Jason Castro, but it was too little, too late.

The Red Sox held on for the victory to tie the ALCS 1-1 before the series shifts to Boston.