Things actually started off well for the Sox against Darvish in the top of the first inning. Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out and Daniel Nava struck out, but Dustin Pedroia reached on an infield single. David Ortiz greeted Darvish by swatting a 2 run home run to put the Sox up early. Mike Napoli looked at strike three to end the inning but the Sox led 2-0.
Jon Lester got the ball in the bottom of the first inning. Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus grounded out and Lance Berkman struck out to end the inning.
The Sox tagged Darvish again in the top of the second inning. Mike Carp struck out but David Ross blasted a solo home run to increase the lead. Stephen "PU" Drew struck out and Pedro Ciriaco grounded out to end the inning with the Sox ahead 3-0.
Lester cruised in the bottom of the second inning. Adrian Beltre grounded out to third, Nelson Cruz flied out to right and AJ Pierzynski struck out to end the inning.
Darvish then went on a roll beginning in the top of the third inning. Ellsbury and Nava grounded out and Pedroia struck out to end the inning. The Rangers began the comeback in the bottom of the third inning. Jeff Baker but Mitch Moreland homered to cut the lead. Craig Gentry grounded out and Kinsler lined out to end the inning with the score now 3-1 Boston.
Darvish continued to dominate in the top of the fourth inning. Ortiz grounded out but Napoli walked. Carp and Ross struck out to end the inning. Lester matched Darvish in the bottom of the fourth inning. Andrus grounded out but Berkman doubled. Beltre flied out but Cruz walked. Pierzynski struck out to end the inning.
Darvish kept up the hot streak in the top of the fifth inning. PU Drew struck out but Ciriaco singled. Ellsbury flied out but Ciriaco stole second. Nava struck out to end the inning. Lester ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth when Baker worked a lead-off walk. Moreland flied out and Gentry struck out but Kinsler singled. Andrus struck out to end the inning.
Darvish turned up the heat in the top of the sixth inning as he struck out Pedroia, Ortiz and Napoli in short order. Inspired by Yu's effort, the Rangers tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Berkman grounded out but Beltre singled. Cruz then launched a 2 run bomb to tie the game just like that. Pierzynski struck out but Baker walked. David Murphy ran for Baker but Lester whiffed Moreland to end his day. He made 2 mistakes and it cost him the win.
Darvish returned for the top of the seventh but the Sox couldn't knock him out. Carp grounded out but Ross walked. Drew struck out but Ross swiped second. Ciriaco struck out to end the inning. Darvish had punched out 14 batters in 17 innings, impressive. Koji Uehara replaced Lester in the bottom of the seventh and almost coughed up the game. Gentry lined one off Koji for an infield single and moved to second on the sacrifice bunt by Kinsler. Uehara struck out Andrus but Gentry stole third. Sox manager John Farrell had Berkman intentionally walked and the gamble paid off as Beltre grounded out to end the inning.
Michael Kirkman came in to pitch the top of the eighth and the Sox almost rallied. Ellsbury grounded out and Nava struck out but Pedroia walked and stole second. Ortiz walked to chase Kirman as Jason Frasor came in to pitch to Napoli. With a chance to put the Sox on top....Napoli grounded out to end the inning. Junichi Tazawa came in to pitch to Cruz in the bottom of the first and got him to ground out. Sox manager John Farrell brought in the lefty Miller to get the final two outs. Pierzynski struck out but Murphy singled. Moreland struck out to end the inning.
Rangers closer Joe Nathan took the mound in the top of the ninth and the Sox almost rallied again. Carp lined out but today's MVP Ross walked. Shane Victorino pinch ran for Ross and PU Drew singled. Jarrod Saltalamacchia pinch hit for Ciriaco but struck out. Ellsbury grounded out to end the inning. The game came to an end in the bottom of the ninth although Clayton "Vigo" Mortensen almost got out of it. Nava moved to left field with Victorino now in right. Middlebrooks moved to third and Saltalamacchia took over behind the plate. Leonys Martin pinch hit for Gentry and whiffed. Kinsler whiffed to put the Sox one out away from extra innings. They didn't get the chance as Andrus singled and took second on the wild pitch by Vigo. Berkman was intentionally walked but the gamble backfired as Beltre singled to score Andrus to win the game. The Rangers had completed the sweep with a 4-3 walkof win.
Jackass of the night is Clayton Mortensen. His wild pitch and subsequent single led to the Sox' defeat.
The Good:
Dustin Pedroia was 1 for 3 with a walk, run scored and stolen base.
David Ortiz was 1 for 3 with a 2 run home run.
David Ross was 1 for 2 with 2 walks, a stolen base and a home run.
Pedro Ciriaco was 1 for 3 with a stolen base.
Jon Lester pitched well, tossing 6 innings of 3 run ball to keep the team in the game. He allowed 5 hits and 3 walks while striking out 7
Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 7th inning.
Junichi Tazawa retired the only man he faced.
Andrew Miller struck out the last two batters of the eighth inning.
The Bad:
Jacoby Ellsbury was 0 for 5.
Daniel Nava was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Mike Carp was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out in his only plate appearance.
The Ugly:
Mike Napoli was 0 for 3 but walked.
Stephen Drew was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Honorable Mention:
Will Middlebrooks played third base in the bottom of the ninth.
Shan Victorino played right field in the bottom of the ninth.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox first losing streak of the season comes at a bad time. The New York Yankees are hanging tough and so are the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Red Sox can't afford to be dropping games in succession although they were due for a losing streak. The Rangers bats were hot and Darvish is something else. To add insult to injury, Andrew Bailey may be headed to the disabled list with a bad arm. He didn't appear in this series and the ninth inning would have been his, not Mortensen's had he been healthy. Luckily Craig Breslow is due to come off the disabled list to take his place, but that means Joel Hanrahan HAS to stay healthy with Bailey out. Tomorrow the Sox look to open a 3 game set with the Minnesota Twins. Clay Buchholz gets the start opposite Vance Worley at 7:10 PM.
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