Red Sox 11, Rangers 6
ARLINGTON, Tex. (Aug 2) — It was a tough night on Friday for the Texas Rangers as they dropped their series opener to the Boston Red Sox, 11–6. Home runs by Wilyer Abreu and Rafael Devers helped nail down the win for the Red Sox. The Rangers will try to even this three-game series on Saturday evening, with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Tanner Houck (8–7, 2.79 ERA) will get the ball for the Red Sox, while the Rangers have yet to announce their starting pitcher for that contest.
Homer Happy
The Rangers got on the board quickly in the bottom of the first against Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford. After Josh Smith struck out swinging to lead off the frame, Corey Seager stepped in and hit a solo bomb to right-center, his 20th of the season, to put the Rangers on top 1–0. The Red Sox took a 2–1 lead in similar fashion in the top of the second off Rangers starter Jose Urena. Devers flied to center to lead things off. Connor Wong followed with a sharp single to center. On deck was Abreu, who deposited a two-run homer into the seats in right.
More Offense
The Rangers knotted the score at two runs apiece in the bottom of the third. The spark came on a solo dinger to right by Leody Taveras. Two batters later, Seager struck again with his second homer of the evening, a solo shot to right-center. It marks the second multi-homer game this year for Seager. His first was on May 26 against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Red Sox had an outpouring of offense in the top of the fourth. Tyler O’Neill started the frame with a single to left. Devers followed with a double lined to right. Up next was Wong, who plated both runners with a single to right, tying things 3–3.
Chipping Away
Moments later, Devers scored on a single to left by Abreu. Later in the inning, Nick Sogard drove in both runners with a single to right to make it 6–3 Red Sox. It was the first hit and RBI of his career. The Red Sox added on in the top of the fifth. A leadoff triple by Jarren Duran forced Rangers manager Bruce Bochy to bring in reliever Jacob Latz. The first batter he faced was Masataka Yoshida, who plated Duran with a sacrifice fly to center. They extended the lead to 9–3 on a two-run blast to left-center by Ceddanne Rafaela. Sogard reached on a walk in the previous at-bat. The Rangers chipped away in the bottom of the sixth. Seager led off with a single to left.
Red Sox Stretch Lead
Moments later, Marcus Semien cut the Red Sox lead to 9–5 with his 16th homer of the year, a two-run shot to left. The Rangers scored again in the bottom of the seventh. The recently acquired Carson Kelly led off with a double to right. This led Red Sox manager Alex Cora to bring in reliever Cam Booser. On deck was Robbie Grossman, pinch-hitting for Taveras. Kelly advanced to third on a single to left by Grossman.
Two batters later, Seager brought Kelly home with a sacrifice fly to center. The Red Sox added two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth off Rangers reliever Andrew Chafin. After O’Neill struck out swinging to lead things off, Devers belted his 25th homer of the season, a solo shot to right. Up next was Wong, who hit an infield single to third. Two batters later, Wong scored on a double to right by Dominic Smith.
What Went Right for the Red Sox
When you run your run total to double digits, you’re likely going to have a good evening at the ballpark. The Red Sox used a healthy mix of power and small ball to win this game. The home runs by Abreu and Devers really helped the Red Sox’ cause. They also had several RBI base hits from the rest of their lineup. Their pitching, while not perfect, was able to limit the damage that the Rangers were inflicting.
What Went Wrong for the Red Sox
Seager’s two-homer performance was one of the things that hindered the Red Sox on Friday night. Taveras and Semien also got in on the action with homers of their own. Much like the Red Sox, the Rangers were able to score a few runs by keeping the ball on the ground. That’s one of the keys to winning baseball games. Always keep your opponents on their toes.
Tough Outing for Urena
Rangers starter Jose Urena shouldered his sixth loss of the season, departing after 4+ innings. His record now sits at 3–6 with an ERA of 3.70. He allowed a season-high seven runs, all earned, on eight hits. He struck out two and didn’t allow any walks on 69 pitches, 44 of which were strikes. Urena yielded the pair of runs on Abreu’s blast before allowing four runs in the fourth, as the Red Sox recorded four straight hits to open the frame. He departed after allowing the leadoff triple in the fifth to Duran, who scored on a Yoshida sacrifice fly off Latz, closing the book on Ureña.
Crawford’s Evening
Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford earned the win despite allowing four home runs. He now owns a record of 7–8 with an ERA of 3.81. His line on the evening was 5 1/3 IP, 6 H, 5 R-ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 4 HR, 95 pitches/63 strikes. Crawford became the first Red Sox pitcher to be awarded a win in a start in which he permitted four-plus homers since Josh Beckett on September 24, 2010 against the New York Yankees. He has surrendered 12 home runs over his last three starts, which is the most ever allowed by a Red Sox hurler over a three-game span. Crawford has seen far better results on the road. He is 4–3 with a 3.57 ERA in 11 starts away from Fenway Park this season.
Postgame Comments
In his postgame press conference, Bochy discussed his team’s performance in Friday’s game. “I think you can say that we made quite a few mistakes. Boston is a good hitting ball club. They’re one of the top offensive teams in baseball. On our end, I thought Jose (Urena) had good stuff. He left some balls up the middle, but they did some good hitting. It was a tough night for all of our pitchers, but the guys swung well. We were battling, and of course Corey (Seager) had a big night, and Marcus kept us in the game somewhat, and we just couldn’t hold them. The bullpen struggled tonight.”
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