Rangers Rout Red Sox in Series Finale

Photo by Tim Heitman/Getty Images

September 20, 2023

Rangers 15, Red Sox 5

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Sep 20) — The Texas Rangers secured a much-needed series against the Boston Red Sox, beating them, 15–5, Wednesday afternoon. A cluster of home runs by Jonah Heim, Mitch Garver, Josh Jung and Evan Carter set the tone in this businessperson’s special. With a 2–1 win by the Houston Astros earlier in the day over the Baltimore Orioles, this win keeps the Rangers a half game out of first place in the AL West. After a day off on Thursday, the Rangers begin a crucial three-game set against the Seattle Mariners on Friday at Globe Life Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm Central. Right-hander Bryce Miller (8–5, 3.88 ERA) will get the start for the Mariners, while the Rangers will send Dane Dunning (10–6, 3.78 ERA) to the hill.

Scoring in Bunches

In the top of the first, everyone in the ballpark flinched in unison as Adam Duvall belted a three-run homer to left-center off Jon Gray. Justin Turner walked and Alex Verdugo singled to third respectively just prior. The Red Sox made it 4–0 in the top of the second on a solo homer to center by Bobby Dalbec. The Rangers didn’t sit still for long, however. In their half of the second, Heim cut the lead to one run with a three-run homer to right off Brayan Bello. Jung singled to short and Adolis Garcia walked respectively earlier in the frame. Garver followed Heim with a solo dinger to right-center to tie it 4–4.

Moments later, Leody Taveras singled to right and Carter doubled to left, bringing up Marcus Semien. Semien drove Taveras and Carter in with a single to center to give the Rangers a 6–4 lead over the Red Sox. The Rangers added on in the bottom of the third. Taveras plated Heim, who reach base via the walk, with a single to left. Two batters later, Garver scored thanks to a bases loaded walk to Semien. Garver was hit by a pitch earlier in the frame. The Rangers extended their lead to 9–4 in the bottom of the fourth on a double by Garcia that allowed Nathaniel Lowe to score. The double came off Red Sox reliever Nick Robertson. Lowe singled two batters earlier. Later in the inning, Jung scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Taveras.

Rangers Pile it On

The Rangers made it 11–4 in the bottom of the fifth. A double to left by Corey Seager scored Semien, who reached on a fielding error by Rafael Devers moments before. Lightning struck again later in the frame on a two-run shot to center by Jung, scoring Seager in the process. In the bottom of the sixth, the Red Sox brought in John Schreiber to relieve Robertson on the mound. After a lineout by Garver and a walk to Taveras, Carter put two more runs on the board.

He did this with a two-run homer to right. It was his second of the season. As a side note, Carter’s double earlier in the game made it 12 straight games that he has reached base. That isn’t a bad way to start your career. Carter also came a hair shy of making history as he only needed a triple to complete the cycle. With Will Smith on the mound for the Rangers in the ninth, the Red Sox added one more run. Masataka Yoshida scored on a single by Ceddanne Rafaela.

Short Day for Gray

Rangers lefty Martin Perez earned the win after he logged 4 2/3 scoreless frames in relief of Gray. Gray’s line was 2 1/3 IP, 4 R-ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2 HR, 39 pitches/28 strikes, and one pitch clock violation. This was Pérez’ longest scoreless outing since his start on August 24, 2022 against the Colorado Rockies (six scoreless innings) and the second-longest relief outing of his career. It was also the longest scoreless relief appearance by a Ranger since Ariel Jurado on August 28, 2019 against the Los Angeles Angels (six scoreless innings). He owns a record of 10–4 with an ERA of 4.49.

In his last five games, Perez has a record of of 1–0 with an ERA of zero. He also has 10 strikeouts and two walks, and batters are hitting .189 against him. On the other side, Bello took his 10th loss of the season after allowing a career high eight runs, all earned, on eight hits in three innings. His record is now 10–12 with an ERA of 4.11. It was his first time lasting less than four innings this season (previous April 17 against the Angels, 2 2/3 IP). That translates into a stretch of 25 starts. It marked his first career loss to the Rangers, as he won both outings to start his career against the Rangers.

Postgame Comments

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was all smiles after the game. “It makes your manager feel good, I’ll tell you that,” Bochy said with a chuckle. “This is more who we were [early in the season], and so it’s good to see these guys have that success. You look at two guys we just got back. I love the way Josh [Jung] has been swinging the bat, as well as Adolis García, so it stretches out your lineup here. “Mitch Garver had a home run in the seven spot — big day by him. So it’s always good to have success. That breeds confidence as they say, and you can see it in the guys right now.”