Doubront got the ball in the top of the first and Shin-Soo Choo led off by drawing a walk. Elvis Andrus dropped down a bunt to move Choo to second and Shin moved to third on the fly out to center by Prince Fielder. Adrian Beltre flied out to right to end the inning with Stevie Ray Vaughn's rendition of Voodoo Child blaring on the stadium speakers. Martin Perez got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Jonny Gomes led off with a walk. Dustin Pedroia banged into a double play and David Ortiz whiffed to end the inning as Blind Melon's No Rain played over the Fenway speakers.
Alex Rios led off the top of the second by grounding out to new Sox player Ryan Roberts to start. Donnie Murphy popped up to Pedroia near foul territory and Michael Choice took strike three to end the inning. The Sox failed with men on base again as Mike Napoli chopped a single up the middle to start. Grady Sizemore dumped a base hit to center and Napoli moved to third on the liner to right by Xander Bogaerts. AJ Pierzynski killed the rally by banging into a double play to end the inning.
The Rangers pulverized Doubront in the top of the third as Robinson Chirinos hit one onto the Mass Pike to give the Rangers the lead. Josh Wilson grounded out to third but Choo singled off the Monster. Andrus took strike three but Fielder chopped a double over the head of Napoli into the right field corner that scored Choo. Fielder took third on the throw home and he scored when Beltre singled past the diving Bogaerts. Rios singled to left and Sox pitching coach Juan Nieves came out to tell Doubront that Law & Order SVU was on in the clubhouse. Murphy hit a pop up but Sizemore dove the wrong way and the ball dropped in for an rbi "double". Doubront was squeezed on a walk by Choice and Chirinos chased him by drawing a walk. The postage stamp strike zone frustrated Felix too much and he was gone after 2 2/3 innings and 5 runs allowed. Burke Badenhop came in and got Wilson to ground into a force to end the inning with the Rangers ahead 5-0.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the third although Roberts walked to start. Jackie Bradley Jr banged into a double play and Gomes took strike three to end the inning.
The Rangers lit up Badenhop in the top of the fourth as Choo led off with a walk. Andrus singled past the diving Bogaerts and Fielder singled past the diving Pedroia to score Choo plus advance Andrus to third. Beltre pounded a double off the Monster to score Andrus but Rios grounded out to short. JBJ ran down a Murphy liner to right but it scored Fielder with another run. Choice grounded out to short to end the inning but the game was over early 8-0.
The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Pedroia doubled into the left field corner to start. Ortiz hit a fly out to deep center but it was enough to move Pedroia to third. Napoli hit another chop up the middle for a hit to score Pedroia with the Sox' first run. Sizemore hit a grounder to Murphy who tagged out Napoli but Sizemore beat out the throw to first. Sox manager John Farrell came out to argue that Murphy never tagged him and umpire Ron Kulpa told Farrell that he was out of the baseline anyway. Farrell said the hell with it and went back to the dugout as Bogaerts grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox did get a run but trailed 8-1.
The Rangers got the run back in the top of the fifth as Chirinos doubled to left to start. He moved to third on the bunt by Wilson and scored on the double down the right field line by Choo. Choo moved to third on the Andrus grounder but Fielder grounded out to second to end the inning with the Rangers up 9-1. Badenhop allowed four runs of his own, not great.
Pierzynski singled up the middle to start the bottom of the fifth but Roberts banged into the Sox fourth double play of the game. JBJ struck out swinging to end the inning.
Brandon Workman came in to pitch the top of the sixth inning and Jim Adduci pinch hit for Beltre to begin. Adduci hit a ground ball to Napoli who flipped it to Workman for the out. Gomes made a running grab of a Rios liner and Murphy swung and missed for strike three to end the inning. Gomes led off with a walk but...stop me if you've heard this....Pedroia banged into a double play. Ortiz grounded into the shift to end the inning.
Workman cruised in the top of the seventh as Choice grounded out to second to start. Chirinos flied out to left and Wilson grounded out to short to end the inning. The Sox fought back in the bottom of the seventh as Napoli got a base hit to right to start. Sizemore lined a base hit to right and Napoli moved to third on the fly out by Bogaerts. A wild pitch moved Sizemore to second and Pierzynski singled up the middle to score Napoli and move Grady to third. That was it for Perez as Jason Frasor came in to pitch. Roberts walked to load the bases and JBJ doubled off the top of the Monster to score both Sizemore and Pierzynski. Gomes struck out swinging and Pedroia grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Sox down 9-4.
Workman kept up the pace in the top of the eighth as Choo grounded out to second to start. Andrus was rung up by home plate umpire Chris Conroy for strike three and Fielder whiffed to end the inning. Neal Cotts came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Ortiz whiffed on a 92 mph fastball to start. Napoli also went down hacking but Sizemore doubled into the right field corner. Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning.
The Rangers finally got to Workman in the top of the ninth as Adduci doubled off the Monster to start. Rios hit a liner off Pedroia for an infield single to put runners at the corners but Murphy forced Rios at second. Choice hit a sac fly to center to score Adduci with another run. Chirinos grounded into a force to end the inning with the Rangers ahead 10-4.
Somehow the Sox rallied in the bottom of the ninth against Joakim Soria. Pierzynski singled to center to start but Roberts was rung up for strike three. JBJ singled to right and Gomes singled up the middle to score AJ. Pedroia whiffed but Ortiz doubled off the centerfield wall to score JBJ and Gomes to cut the lead. Napoli whiffed on a big curveball to end the game. The rally was fun but it wasn't enough as the Rangers had won it 10-7.
Jackass of the Night is Felix Doubront. He got rocked for 5 runs in just 2 2/3 innings.
The Good:
Jonny Gomes was 1 for 3 with 2 walks, an rbi and a run scored.
Mike Napoli was 3 for 5 with an rbi and a run scored.
Grady Sizemore was 3 for 4 with a run scored.
AJ Pierzynski was 3 for 4 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
Ryan Roberts walked twice in four plate appearances.
Ryan Roberts walked twice in four plate appearances.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 2 for 4 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4.
Burke Badenhop allowed 4 runs in 2 1/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Brandon Workman allowed a run in 4 innings of work.
Dustin Pedroia was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but scored a run.
David Ortiz was just 1 for 5 but drove in 2 runs.
Final Thoughts:
Seems like the Red Sox are stuck in a rut they can't get out of. They somehow ground into 5 double plays yet still put 7 runs on the board. Too bad Felix Doubront and Burke Badenhop stunk the joint out in this one. Doubront seems to fall apart when calls don't go his way and that needs to change or else umpires will prey on that. The Sox are going to have to make a roster move tomorrow because Craig Breslow is ready. The word is Brandon Workman may be sent back to Pawtucket even though it should be Badenhop after that performance. The healthier the Sox get, the better they'll be in the long run. Tomorrow afternoon the Sox look to take the rubber game of this series when they send Jake Peavy (0-0, 3.00 ERA) to the mound up against Alexi Ogando of the Rangers. The game begins at 4:05 PM at Fenway Park.
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