HOUSTON — It was Houston Astros All-Star Alex Bregman simply being Alex Bregman, showing off his swag, mixing in a little trolling, and the next thing anyone knew, his Instagram post was the biggest topic of conversation Monday before Game 3 of the American League Championship Series. The Astros third baseman, who faces Boston Red Sox starter Nate Eovaldi on Tuesday night, showed a clip on his Instagram account with the Astros hitting three consecutive homers off Eovaldi earlier this year when he was still with the Tampa Bay Rays. It was a subtle dig similar to New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge walking by the Red Sox clubhouse playing New York, New York, after beating the Red Sox in Game 2 at Fenway Park in the AL Division Series. While Eovaldi and the Red Sox insisted publicly they didn’t take any offense to the home-run clip, Astros manager A.J. Hinch wasted no time telling Bregman to delete it from his account. MORE MLB “Obviously, there’s fun banter,’’ Hinch said. “You go back and you hear New York, New York in Boston in the New York series. You get the different tweets and the different Instagram posts, and it’s all in good fun. “And we have a sport full of great personalities and there’s a fine line. Is it disrespectful? No. If it crosses a line, if you have to question whether it crosses the line, it probably does. “And so I don’t look any further into that.’’ If nothing else, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, it at least has people talking about this series and the game of baseball rather than the Monday Night Football game. “It’s always good that people talk about the game,’’ Cora said, “and if that's the reason they're talking about it, so be it. But from my end, I don't pay attention to that … “People are paying attention, you know? Like the Judge thing was in every sports show, which is cool, I think. Like, we need more people to talk about the game. We're in a great time to be a baseball fan. I've been saying that the whole season. You look at those two teams, you know, it's like, wow. I've been talking about talent. “Alex Bregman is one of the best players in the big leagues. And now, well, they're talking, not for the right reasons, but they're talking about it. “And I think it's cool.’’ Could it actually motivate the Red Sox? "If you need motivation in Game 3 of the ALCS,’’ Cora said, “you better check yourself, because you win three more games, you go to the Show. And that's what should motivate you. Alex has different ways of motivating himself. And whatever. I'll leave it at that.’’ The Astros, who arrived in Houston at 5 a.m., did not work out Monday, so Bregman was unavailable for comment. Yet, Eovaldi, who grew up in nearby Alvin, Texas, the hometown of Nolan Ryan, publicly said he had no issues with Bregman’s idea of either having fun, trying to get under his skin, or both. “I still have a job to do,’’ said Eovaldi, who doesn’t have social media, but was told of the Instagram post. “I've got to go out there and pitch my game, and I can't have any distractions.’’ Who knows, maybe the Red Sox and Eovaldi get the last laugh, and when they leave Minute Maid Park on Tuesday night, they’ll be playing Deep in the Heart of Texas? “I don’t take it personal,’’ Cora said. “I don’t play anymore. Probably when I was playing, I would be like, 'Here we go.’ But I don’t throw a ball. I don’t have to hit. I don’t make errors anymore. I just manage a team.’’ Let the show begin.<doc-sep>Say what you want about Alex Bregman, but the Houston Astros third baseman certainly is adding some spice to the American League Championship Series. Bregman and the Astros will take their licks against Boston Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi on Tuesday night in Game 3 at Minute Maid Park. And they’re probably looking forward to it, considering the success Houston had against Eovaldi earlier this season. On June 20, when Eovaldi was pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays, the right-hander gave up back-to-back-to-back homers to Jose Altuve, Bregman and George Springer. And Bregman clearly hasn’t forgotten, judging by the way he trolled Eovaldi on Monday in his Instagram story. (You can click here to watch Bregman’s troll job.) Call us crazy, but it kinda looks like Bregman is sitting down in a certain plumbing-rich room in his surely luxurious establishment. But that’s neither here nor there. For what it’s worth: Bregman since has deleted the post from his Instagram. Perhaps Aaron Judge taught him a lesson about not trolling the Red Sox during the playoffs? Bregman has done damage at the plate throughout the postseason, and also has made headlines with his attitude. He complained about the Astros getting afternoon starts, decided to stare down Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly in Game 1 for some weird reason and was candid after just missing a game-tying homer in Game 2.<doc-sep>Nathan Eovaldi isn’t about to let Alex Bregman get in his head. The Houston Astros third baseman posted a video to his Instagram story Monday that showed Bregman and teammates George Springer and Jose Altuve launching back-to-back-to-back home runs off Eovaldi during a June start in an effort to troll the Boston Red Sox right-hander. Eovaldi, who will start Game 3 of the American League Championship Series on Tuesday at Minute Maid Park, still was pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays at the time. The hard-throwing right-hander was asked about Bregman’s attempted troll job Monday, and he simply brushed it off. “No, you know I don’t have any social media or anything like that,” Eovaldi said, as seen on NESN.com. “The guys have told me about it. I think home run clips, right? Something like that. Yeah, I’m aware of it.” The 28-year-old isn’t going to let Bregman’s social media antics impact his mindset heading into a pivotal Game 3. “No, I still have a job to do. I’ve got to go out there and pitch my game tomorrow and I can’t have any distractions.” Boston evened up the best-of-seven series at one game apiece Sunday night when it beat the ‘Stros 7-5 at Fenway Park. The Sox hope Eovaldi can replicate the outing he had against the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the AL Division Series when he tossed seven innings of one-run ball at Yankee Stadium. Thumbnail photo via Thumbnail photo via Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports Images<doc-sep>Bregman’s posted a brief video to his Instagram story on Tuesday that was introduced with the title, “lil pregame video work.” The video featured Astros George Springer, Bregman, and Jose Altuve hitting back-to-back-to-back homers in a June 20 start in Houston in which Eovaldi, then with the Rays, gave up five runs and four homers over six innings in a 5-1 loss to the Astros. HOUSTON – Nathan Eovaldi doesn’t spend time on social media and he doesn’t have an Instagram account. Nonetheless, the Red Sox righthander wasn’t oblivious to the arrow fired in his direction by Astros third baseman Alex Bregman in advance of Eovaldi’s Game 3 start in the American League Championship Series. Nathan Eovaldi allowed three straight home runs — the first by George Spiringer — to the Astros June 20 as a member of the Rays. Advertisement Though Bregman deleted it soon after posting it, the video was captured by a few outlets and circulated quickly, coming to the attention of members of the Red Sox. Those players, in turn, alerted Eovaldi to it. Bregman’s instagram story right is a video of the Astros going back-to-back-to-back dingers off Nate Eovaldi in June. 🔥🌶🔥🌶🔥🌶🔥🌶 pic.twitter.com/HzPS0W2DKW — Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) October 15, 2018 “The guys have told me about it,” said Eovaldi. “I’m aware of it.” Eovaldi – who grew up in Alvin, Texas, about 30 miles from where he’ll take the mound at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday – shrugged off the significance of the post, suggesting that it wouldn’t affect his preparation. He also described himself as a “completely different” pitcher now from the one who got hit hard in his start against the Astros in June. He’s changed his position on the mound to attack different parts of the strike zone and in the process, he’s gone from vulnerable to homers (1.4 homers per nine innings through August) to extreme in avoiding them (he’s allowed none in 27 innings since the start of September). Eovaldi is confident his alterations will allow him to continue that success in Game 3. “I’m going to try to keep the same approach as I’ve been attacking hitters now and moving forward,” said Eovaldi. Advertisement Yet while Eovaldi could view his adjustments as a reason to look past Bregman’s dig, it’s possible the rest of the Red Sox won’t be so quick to dismiss it. In the American League Division Series, the Red Sox didn’t mind using off-the-field taunts by their opponent – in that instance, Aaron Judge playing “New York, New York” on a portable speaker while walking through the concourse of Fenway Park after a Yankees win – to sharpen a competitive edge. Might the Red Sox find similar fuel for their motivational engine in Bregman’s post? Manager Alex Cora spoke coyly on the topic. “We don’t know about that. We didn’t know about Judge, and we didn’t know about what Alex did,” Cora said of a player with whom he became – and remains – extremely close from their 2017 season together in Houston, when Cora was the Astros bench coach. “If you need motivation in Game 3 of the ALCS, you better check yourself, because you win three more games you go to the [World Series]. And that’s what should motivate you. Alex has different ways of motivating himself. And . . . whatever. I’ll leave it at that.” In a way, the post served as a reminder of baseball’s social media era, and the modern form that bulletin-board material gets assembled. “Welcome to the current generation,” said Astros manager A.J. Hinch. “We have a sport full of great personalities and there’s a fine line. Is it disrespectful? No. We want guys to have their personalities, have their fun, then go out and back it up. If you’re going to put yourself out there you’ve got to back it up a little bit. But this is all in fun banter and competition.” Advertisement The Sox tended to agree. Ultimately, the episode will have little bearing on what happens in the series. But the Red Sox wouldn’t mind having an opportunity to revisit it after the ALCS. “I thought [the post] was good fun . . . I don’t think it will affect the way Nate goes out and pitches,” said Brock Holt. “We saw [the Judge video in the Yankees series] and we knew that if we did what we wanted to do and won the series, we were gonna blast the tune so he could hear it again. It’s just having fun back and forth. I don’t think [Judge] meant anything by it. Same thing with us. We won the series, felt pretty good, and wanted to give a little shot back. We’ll have to think of something where, if this series goes the way we want it, we’ll give Bregman a little shot back.” Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him on twitter at @alexspeier.<doc-sep>
HOUSTON -- If Alex Bregman was trying to get a rise out of the Boston Red Sox, it didn't work. On Monday, the Houston third baseman posted a video to his Instagram account that showed the Astros hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs at Minute Maid Park against Nathan Eovaldi, with the text caption, "lil pregame video work." Bregman hit the second of the three homers against Eovaldi, who was pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays at the time. Eovaldi was traded to Boston in July and is slated to start Game 3 of the American League Championship Series in Houston on Tuesday. On Monday afternoon, Eovaldi said he hadn't actually seen the video, but that he was aware of it and was trying to stay focused on the task at hand. "I still have a job to do," he said. "I've got to go out there and pitch my game tomorrow and I can't have any distractions." Like Eovaldi, Red Sox manager Alex Cora claimed he hadn't seen Bregman's post. Cora added that, with the best-of-seven series tied at one, he doesn't think his players need any extra incentive. "If you need motivation in Game 3 of the ALCS, you better check yourself," said the first-year skipper. "Because you win three more games, you go to the show. And that's what should motivate you. Alex has different ways of motivating himself and whatever. I'll leave it at that." Bregman's post is merely the latest episode of off-field antics that Cora and the Red Sox have endured. Following Boston's Game 2 AL Division Series loss to the Yankees, slugger Aaron Judge walked by the Red Sox clubhouse on his way out of Fenway Park, blaring the classic song "New York, New York." Upon returning to the Bronx, the Red Sox routed the Yankees 16-1 in Game 3, then eliminated them a day later with a 4-3 win. A week later, Cora has no hard feelings about Judge's gesture, or the more recent one from Bregman. "I don't take it personal," he said. "I don't play anymore. Probably when I was playing I would be like, here we go, like whatever. But I don't throw a ball. I don't have to hit. I don't make errors anymore. I just manage a team. And I don't get caught up on that. But it's always good that people talk about the game. And if that's the reason they're talking about it, so be it. But from my end, I don't pay attention to that." As of Monday evening, Bregman's Instagram account no longer contained a post with video from Eovaldi's June start in Houston.