Brown took the mound in the top of the first and both Scott Fletcher and Billy Hatcher grounded out to short to start. Mike Greenwell drew a walk but Andre Dawson also grounded out to short to end the inning. Darwin got the ball and immediately got in trouble in the bottom of the first. Doug Dascenzo popped up to second and Rafael Palmeiro lined out to center, but Jose Canseco walked. Juan Gonzalez singled but Juan Franco struck out to end the inning.
The Sox mustered nothing in the top of the second inning as Mo Vaughn popped up to short to begin. Ivan Calderon grounded out to second but Scott Cooper singled to right. Bob Melvin grounded out to short to end the inning. The Rangers struck first in the bottom of the second inning. Dean Palmer doubled to right and Ivan Rodriguez singled him to third. Doug Strange hit a sac fly to score Palmer but Benji Gil flied out to right. Dascenzo also flied out to right to end the inning but the Rangers were up 1-0.
Luis Rivera watched strike three go by to begin the top of the third and Fletcher grounded out to second. Hatcher grounded out to first to end the inning. Darwin settled down in the bottom of the third by getting Palmeiro to fly out to right to start. Canseco grounded out to third and Gonzalez grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the top of the fourth inning as Greenwell singled to lead off. Dawson banged into a double play but Vaughn belted an opposite field solo home run to tie the game. Calderon grounded out to first to end the inning but it was tied 1-1.
Darwin had control issues in the bottom of the fourth inning as Franco walked to start. Palmer lined out to left but Rodriguez walked. Strange was frozen for strike three and Gil popped up to second to end the inning.
The Sox wasted a big chance to take the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Cooper flied out to center and Melvin grounded out to second, but Rivera singled through the hole at short. Fletcher hit a routine grounder to short but Gil threw it away, putting runners at the corners. With a chance to take the lead....Hatcher grounded out to short to end the inning. Darwin did what he could in the bottom of the fifth, getting both Dascenzo and Palmeiro to ground out to first. Canseco was plunked but Gonzalez flied out to center to end the inning.
More zeroes in the top of the sixth for the Sox as Greenwell watched strike three go by to start. Dawson grounded back to the mound and Vaughn lined out to short to end the inning. The Rangers struck again in the bottom of the sixth inning. Franco led off with a double and moved to third on the ground out by Palmer. Rodriguez blooped a single into no man's land between short and second that scored Franco to give the Rangers the lead. Strange popped up to right but Gil walked. Dascenzo flied out to left to end the inning but it was now 2-1.
The Sox offense was done for the night in the top of the seventh as Calderon grounded out to third, Cooper grounded out to second and Melvin whiffed to end the inning. That was it for Darwin after 6 solid innings and Greg Harris took over for the bottom of the seventh. Bob Zupcic came in for Calderon but was in right with Hatcher moving to center. Palmeiro flied out to center, Canseco grounded out to short and Gonzalez flied out to center to end the inning.
Ernie Riles pinch hit for Rivera to begin the top of the eighth and struck out....I could have done that. Fletcher grounded out to short but Hatcher was hit with a pitch. Greenwell beat out an infield single to short and that was it for Brown. With the tying run on second and Tom Henke on the mound....Dawson grounded out to third to end the inning. Riles stayed in the game but moved to second but Fletcher moved to short for the bottom of the eighth. Franco led off with a single and Butch Davis pinch ran for him. Bushwhacker Butch could have pinch ran for all it mattered because Palmer blasted a 500,000 foot home run halfway to Oklahoma to ice the game. Rodriguez flied out to center, Strange grounded out to first and Gil lined out to first to end the inning with the Rangers now up 4-1. Game over.
Henke finished off the misery in the top of the ninth inning. Vaughn lined out to second and Zupcic looked at strike three but somehow Cooper singled. Carlos Quintana pinch hit for Melvin and.....watched strike three go by to end the game. The Rangers had won it 4-1.
Jackass of the Night is Greg Harris. Not that the Sox looked like they were going to score anytime soon, but there's a difference between being down 2-1 and 4-1, his 2 runs allowed were the difference maker.
The Good:
Mike Greenwell was 2 for 3 with a walk.
Scott Cooper was 2 for 4.
Luis Rivera was 1 for 2.
Danny Darwin was the hard luck loser but didn't pitch like one. He tossed 6 innings of 2 run ball giving up 5 hits and 4 walks.
The Bad:
Scott Fletcher was 0 for 4.
Andre Dawson was 0 for 4.
Ivan Calderon was 0 for 3.
Bob Zupcic struck out as a pinch hitter.
Bob Melvin was 0 for 3 with a strike out.
Carlos Quintana struck out as a pinch hitter.
Ernie Riles struck out as a pinch hitter.
The Ugly:
Billy Hatcher was 0 for 3 but was hit with a pitch.
Mo Vaughn was just 1 for 4 but the one hit was a solo home run.
Final Thoughts:
Shades of last year as the pitching held up (until the end) but the Sox couldn't generate any offense. Dawson and Calderon are supposed to be difference makers but they weren't today. Then again they ran smack into the ace of Texas' staff so its not like they were going to score 10 runs anyway. Its good to see a healthy Danny Darwin and normally a start like that would be good enough to win. Still, the Sox went 4-2 on the road trip and they return to action Tuesday afternoon for the home opener at Fenway Park against the Cleveland Indians. Frank Viola gets the start opposite Jeff Mutis at 1:05 PM at Fenway.
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