Alex Cora and the Red Sox will try to avoid going down 2-0 to the Houston Astros in the ALCS Sunday night.

Barry Chin/Globe Staff

TARA SULLIVAN

Suddenly, Alex Cora is facing the biggest test of his young managerial life

There?s nothing to suggest Cora won?t have his magic touch back in Game 2. But it?s not unfair to wonder if this is the end of the charmed road.

live updates

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/14/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/Clipboard-23188.jpg Red Sox take on the Astros in ALCS Game 2 at Fenway Park

The Red Sox are hoping to salvage a split when they take on the Astros tonight at Fenway Park in Game 2 of their American League Championship Series.

DAN SHAUGHNESSY

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2014/05/09/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/shaughnessy_20131006.jpg Game 2 is a must win, and it?s all on the line for David Price

The lefty is 0-9 as a starter in the postseason, and he?s headed to the mound for Sunday?s pivotal Game 2.

Alex Speier

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/14/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/davis_boshous8_spts-001.jpg Mookie Betts had his chance, but he couldn?t seize it

?I didn?t get the job done,? the Red Sox star said after Boston lost Game 1 of the ALCS.

 
Foxborough, MA - 9/7/2017: Tom Brady celebrates during 2nd quarter action. The New England Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs in their first game of the NFL season at Gillette Stadium. Jim Davis / Globe staff

CHIEFS AT PATRIOTS | 8:20 P.M. (NBC)

Patriots? keys to victory over the Chiefs

The Patriots will face a test as they take on the only undefeated team remaining in the AFC.

New England Patriots running back James White celebrates his touchdown against the Miami Dolphins during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 30, 2018, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Steven Senne/AP

NORA PRINCIOTTI

We graded the best big-play celebrations by the Patriots and around the NFL

Even the Patriots, who last year were a little slow getting in on the fun for fear of punishment from up on hooded high, have had some great ones this year.

Ideas: Can affirmative action be saved?

S.I. Rosenbaum

https://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/12/BostonGlobe.com/Ideas/Images/webrosenbaum.jpg Can technology offer a way forward?

Computers could provide a way for universities to build diversity without considering race directly.

Richard D. Kahlenberg

https://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/12/BostonGlobe.com/Ideas/Images/webkahlenberg.jpg Yes, as long as it?s not based on race

A class-based approach recognizes that disadvantaged whites and Asians deserve a leg up, too.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/12/17/BostonGlobe.com/Arts/Images/200_trump_snl.jpg ?Saturday Night Live? takes on Trump-Kanye meeting

The show?s opening segment made light of last week?s White House gathering.

SUBURBAN WILDLIFE

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/09/BostonGlobe.com/Regional/Images/14zowildlife_002.jpg Creatures of the night, captured on film as they prowl

Halloween conjures up images of bats and owls. But there are lots of other nocturnal animals.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/14/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/14CoverLiedo-1$medium-9123-U841247453615MoF--90x90@BostonGlobe.com.jpg Steps from the experts to help you prepare your property for ice, cold, and snow

Think we humans have it tough in winter? It?s even harder to be a house. Get more expert advice at realestate.boston.com.

Jennifer Garner currently stars in HBO?s ?Camping.?

TV Critic?s Corner

Could Jennifer Garner be part of an ?Alias? reboot?

HBO?s ?Camping? is a comedy about a super-controlling woman played by Jennifer Garner and the camping trip she hosts. But talk of an ?Alias? reboot got Garner?s attention.

NAMES

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/14/BostonGlobe.com/Arts/Images/1045714578.jpg Gisele?s ?Lessons? becomes a bestseller

Bundchen?s memoir ranked ninth on the New York Times? nonfiction bestseller list.

Harvard admissions lawsuit raises tensions on campus

A high-stakes case accusing the university of discriminating against Asian-American applicants begins Monday. Students are grappling with the issues raised by the lawsuit.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/14/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/b412941053844525b1554b73ba5cdf95-b412941053844525b1554b73ba5cdf95-0.jpg Trump hints Pentagon chief Mattis may be planning to quit

President Trump said Defense Secretary Jim Mattis may depart his administration, and described the former Marine Corps general as ?sort of a Democrat.?

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/14/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/2d4be7009b0f401c9a53402230d1f9ef-2d4be7009b0f401c9a53402230d1f9ef-0.jpg Ted Cruz makes a joke apparently about Chappaquiddick at Joe Kennedy?s expense

Cruz referenced the 1969 car crash involving Kennedy?s great-uncle, Ted. Joe Kennedy responded by defending his family?s record.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/05/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/Swensen_18104_08Nurses_0001.jpg Even among nurses, there?s a split on Question 1

The ballot measure would regulate staffing levels in Mass. hospitals. Some nurses, including unionized ones, worry about losing flexibility on the job.

Analysis

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/11/BostonGlobe.com/Metro/Images/RinaldiLowell04.jpg Did Charlie Baker keep his 2014 campaign promises?

The Globe reviewed the governor?s stances, pledges from debates, hundreds of news releases, and media interviews; consulted policy experts; and found a mixed bag.

A grain silo fell onto the barn.

Lunenburg Police Department

More than a dozen calves trapped after barn collapse in Lunenburg

A regional rescue team responded to Cherry Hill Farm after a grain silo fell onto the building.

stat

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/14/BostonGlobe.com/HealthScience/Images/Boghosian_Brigham14_STAT-1024x576.jpg Harvard and the Brigham call for more than 30 retractions of cardiac stem cell research

Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women?s Hospital said that research papers from the lab of Piero Anversa ?included falsified and/or fabricated data.?

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/14/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/dbb53bba78a8433d90d6aebbd88603b7-dbb53bba78a8433d90d6aebbd88603b7-0.jpg Senators urge tough US response over missing Saudi writer

Two leading Senate Republicans threatened tough action against Saudi Arabia, including a possible halt of military sales, if journalist Jamal Khashoggi was indeed killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/14/BostonGlobe.com/Politics/Images/1033188748.jpg NY Gov. blames President Trump, Republicans over protest clash

Andrew Cuomo is questioning why state Republicans invited the founder of a far-right group to speak in Manhattan and blamed them and Trump for clashes that took place after the speech.

TOPSHOT - View of the damaged caused by Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Florida, on October 13, 2018, in Mexico Beach, Florida, three days after Hurricane Michael hit the area. - Since Hurricane Michael roared through on October 10, a wide swath of Florida's northwest coast has been without telephone or Internet service, adding to the daunting challenges facing residents, loved ones trying to reach them, and the work crews struggling to bring them relief. A bridge was washed out between Mexico Beach and Port St. Joe to the southeast, making it impossible to get there via coastal roads (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP)HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

Days after Hurricane Michael, large swath of Fla. Panhandle suffering

Untold numbers of people across the region have damaged homes and no power and don?t have the means to relocate, either to a new or temporary place.

Opinion & Ideas

Ideas | Tyler Wray

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/12/BostonGlobe.com/Ideas/Images/webHIVresearch.jpg Scientists have a new weapon against HIV: your phone

Recent medical advances are revolutionizing HIV treatment. To make the most of them, researchers have an unexpected ally.

Special reports

The Big Picture

Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

The Big Picture

Globe staff photos of the month, September 2018

Here?s a look at some of the best images taken by Globe photographers last month: gas explosions in Lawrence, 9/11 remembrance ceremonies, and primary elections.

Newsletters

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/10/02/BostonGlobe.com/Sports/Images/Baseball-108-Stitches-C.jpg 108 Stitches

Red Sox reporter Alex Speier writes about everything baseball with an eye for analytics and an insider?s knowledge of the game.

STAT

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/12/BostonGlobe.com/National/Images/AP_17298486387699-1024x576.jpg Opinion: A widely used guideline said I didn?t need a mammogram. It was wrong

Because of conflicting guidelines about when women should begin having them, women like me fall through the cracks.

Love Letters: The Podcast

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/08/29/BostonGlobe.com/Lifestyle/Images/200_love_letters_bonus.jpg Until next year, my sweetheart

In a special bonus episode, Meredith Goldstein explores what happens to summer romance when the summer ends, and ?Wet Hot American Summer? creator David Wain shares a girl-crazy memory from his own camp days.

Listen:   Apple Podcasts   |   Stitcher   |   RadioPublic

 

Real Estate

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/10/09/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/10-beechwood-road-halifax-exterior-side-1024x576$medium-9070.jpg Are we ignoring ? or outright banning ? an easy affordable-housing fix?

Mobile homes may be the least expensive and most effective means of addressing the region?s housing shortage.

Globe event

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2018/06/08/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/SeattleTimes_10kirsner02_biz.jpg Seattle?s mayor talks growing pains that offer some lessons for Boston

Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan spoke at a Globe event on how innovation is shaping our world, and she?s in high demand among the hundreds of mayors gathered in Boston.

Crossword

//c.o0bg.com/rf/image_90x90/Boston/2011-2020/2017/08/21/BostonGlobe.com/Business/Images/crossword.jpg Play the crossword

Puzzled? Keep trying your hand at our interactive crossword and see if you can triumph.