Rangers Win Rollercoaster Affair Against Red Sox

September 19, 2023

Rangers 6, Red Sox 4

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Sep 19) — The Texas Rangers evened their series with the Boston Red Sox by winning 6–4, Tuesday night. Adolis Garcia got the offense started with a solo home run in the second inning. With this win, the Rangers were able to snap their four-game losing streak. They were also able to gain a game on the Houston Astros, who lost 9–5 to the Baltimore Orioles earlier in the evening. The Rangers will go for the series win on Wednesday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Brayan Bello (12–9, 3.71 ERA) will take the mound for the Red Sox, and fellow righty Jon Gray (8–8, 4.05 ERA) will get the start for the Rangers.

Welcome Back, Adolis

Garcia made his return to the Rangers lineup on Monday. He spent a couple weeks on the injured list after chasing a fly ball against the Houston Astros. The Rangers’ offense started on Tuesday with a solo shot to right-center by Garcia off Tanner Houck in the bottom of the second. It was his 35th of the season, and it set a new career-high for Garcia. The Red Sox tied it in the top of the third on a groundout by Justin Turner that allowed Bobby Dalbec to score.

Dalbec drew a walk earlier in the inning with Nathan Eovaldi on the mound for the Rangers. The Red Sox took a 3–1 lead later in the frame. Luis Urias and Rafael Devers scored on a single to center by Masataka Yoshida. The Rangers showed signs of life in the bottom of the seventh

Rangers Take Lead in Seventh

They cut the lead to 3–2 on a single to left by Marcus Semien that plated Leody Taveras. The Rangers tied it in the bottom of the sixth off Red Sox reliever Mauricio Llovera. Garcia scored on a double to right by Jonah Heim. It was the 86th RBI for Heim, which ties him with Ivan Rodriguez‘ 1996 season for third-most in a single season by a Rangers catcher. Rodriguez also holds the top two spots in that category.

On deck was Taveras, who brought in Heim with a single to center to make it 4–3 Rangers. Rangers lefty Andrew Heaney came in in relief in the top of the seventh moments before the Red Sox tied it 4–4. Dalbec scored on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error by Corey Seager. The Rangers grabbed a 5–4 lead in the bottom of the seventh for Chris Murphy. Josh Jung scored Semien on a single to center off reliever John Schreiber. They extended it 6–4 on a bases loaded walk to Heim that brought in Seager. Seager previously reached on a single to right.

Early Night for Bochy

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy took an early trip back to his office in this one. In the top of the seventh, Bochy took exception to the strike zone of home plate umpire Ben May. It marks the fourth ejection for Bochy this year. This writer overheard several spectators in the stands remark about how it wasn’t just the strike zone that Bochy was upset about. They were of the mindset that these past several weeks were starting to get to Bochy, and his frustration on Tuesday cost him an early walk back to his office.

Five Innings for Eovaldi

Eovaldi avoided the loss despite exiting with the Rangers trailing 3–1 after the fifth inning. His line on the night was 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R-ER, 3 BB, 3 SO, 82 pitches/48 strikes. It marked his highest innings and pitch count totals since being activated from the 15-day Injured List on September 5. Eovaldi has gone 0–1 with a 6.75 ERA with 10 strikeouts and nine walks in four starts since returning from the injury. Aroldis Chapman walked away with the winning decision after pitching 1 2/3 innings in which he struck out three. His record is now 6–4 with an ERA of 2.75. Jose Leclerc pitched a perfect ninth inning to earn his third save of the year.

Houck allowed two earned runs in four innings, as reliever Brennan Bernardino stranded both of Houck’s inherited runners in the fifth. It matched his shortest start of the season. Red Sox starters had pitched six-plus innings in four straight starts prior to Tuesday, which had matched rotation’s longest such span in ’23 (also June 9-12). Murphy took the loss for the Red Sox. He is now 1–2 with an ERA of 4.73.

Postgame Comments

After the game, Bochy reflected on his team’s effort. He said, “This was a great team win. Obviously these past couple of weeks haven’t been what you want to see, but that’s baseball. You work with what you’ve got. Thankfully we have Josh Jung and Doli (Adolis Garcia) back. Doli had some great at-bats tonight, and at one point we thought he would be out the rest of the season. Also, Nate (Nathan Eovaldi) did great for us, and we’re hoping this can get us going here toward the end.”