The good news was the Boston Celtics eliminated the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 of their second round NBA playoff series but the bad news was the Texas Rangers played home run derby against the Boston Red Sox. With Michael Wacha still out, the Sox had a "bullpen" game blow up in their face. Kole Calhoun and Adolis Garcia both smashed two home runs apiece to run the score up in the later innings. Austin Davis and Tanner Houck held the Rangers to just one run through five innings but Ryan Brasier and Tyler Danish allowed 6 runs combined in the final three innings. Meanwhile old friend Martin Perez shut down his old team, holding the Sox to just 1 run in 5 innings. The Rangers bullpen put up a goose egg as the Sox once again struggled to score runs. It all added up to a 7-1 Rangers win at Globe Life Field.
Perez got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez grounded out to short to start. Rafael Devers doubled past the diving Marcus Semien and JD Martinez got a base hit to right to move Rafael to third. Xander Bogaerts took strike three and Trevor Story watched strike three go by to end the inning. Austin Davis was the "opener" today and the Rangers beat the ball in the dirt. Eli White grounded out to third, Marcus Semien grounded out to short and Corey Seager grounded out to second to end the inning.
Perez cruised in the top of the second as Christian Arroyo popped up to first to start. Alex Verudgo grounded out to second and Bobby Dalbec struck out swinging to end the inning. Jonah Heim struck out swinging to start the bottom of the second before Adolis Garcia went down hacking. Kole Calhoun grounded out to second to end the inning.
Kevin Plawecki walked to start the top of the third but Hernandez took strike three. Devers ripped a base hit to left and both runners moved over on the grounder to first by Martinez, but Bogaerts grounded out to Seager to end the inning. Nathaniel Lowe walked to start the bottom of the third and that was it for Davis. Tanner Houck came in and Lowe moved to second on the grounder to short by Andy Ibanez. Brad Miller moved Lowe to third with a grounder to second and White drew a walk. Semien grounded out to third to end the inning.
Story struck out swinging to start the top of the fourth and Arroyo also went down hacking. Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning. Seager flied out to center to start the bottom of the fourth before Heim grounded out to short. Garcia grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
The Sox struck first on the top of the fifth as Dalbec popped up to first to start. Plawecki took strike three but Hernandez got a base hit to right. Devers doubled to center to score Hernandez and give the Sox the lead. Martinez grounded out to short to end the inning with the Sox ahead 1-0.
The Rangers tied it instantly in the bottom of the fifth as Calhoun hit a home run all the way to Dallas to tie the game. Lowe grounded back to the mound, Ibanez grounded out to short and Miller grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.
Bogaerts walked to start the top of the sixth but Story lined out to short. Arroyo flied out to center and Verdugo grounded out to second to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came in to cough up the game in the bottom of the sixth although White took strike three to start. Semien doubled to left and Seager walked, but Heim struck out swinging. Garcia then pounded a home run all the way to Victoria, Texas to give the Rangers the lead and Calhoun hit yet another home run to ice the game. Lowe took strike three to end the inning but the Rangers were up for good 5-1.
John King came in to pitch the top of the seventh and the Sox laid down. Dalbec flied out to right, Plawecki grounded out to first and Hernandez struck out swinging to end the inning. Tyler Danish came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and froze Ibanez for strike three to start. Miller grounded out to second and White grounded out to third to end the inning.....but wait! Rangers manager Chris Woodward challenged that Dalbec's foot came off the bag. The umpires upheld the call and the inning was over.
Matt Bush came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Devers grounded out to first to start. Martinez took strike three but Bogaerts beat out a roller to first. Story walked and Franchy Cordero pinch hit for Arroyo. Story and Bogaerts pulled off a double steal but Cordero watched strike three go by to end the inning. The Rangers struck again in the bottom of the eighth as Semien flied out to center to start. Seager singled to right but Heim popped up to third. Garcia them hit another home run to Angola to wrap up the scoring. Calhoun grounded out to first to end the inning with the Rangers up 7-1.
Joe Barlow came in to close out the top of the ninth and Verdugo flied out to left in foul territory to start. Dalbec doubled to left but Plawecki lined out to center. Hernandez flied out to center to end the game. The Rangers had won it 7-1.
Jackass of the Night is Ryan Brasier. He served up 4 runs on 2 home runs in the sixth inning.
The Good:
Rafael Devers was 3 for 4 with an rbi.
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base.
Austin Davis tossed 2 scoreless innings.
Tanner Houck tossed 3 innings and allowed just 1 run.
The Bad:
Christian Arroyo was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Franchy Cordero took strike three as a pinch hitter.
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 4.
Tyler Danish allowed 2 runs in 2 innings of work.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was just 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Trevor Story was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked and stole a base.
Bobby Dalbec was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Final Thoughts:
Just when you thought things were looking up the Sox revert back to their old ways. Once again the offense apart from Devers and Martinez couldn't do much and the bullpen fell apart in the later innings. If there's any silver lining heads are going to roll in the bullpen soon. Sox manager Alex Cora is going to figure out who he can trust and who needs to go. Danish was never supposed to be part of a long term plan, Josh Taylor's injury puts the Sox down a crucial arm. Brasier's magic is long gone, if he's hit the wall the Sox need to cut their losses before they're in last place forever. Hopefully Connor Seabold down in Worcester will be ready soon because he can't possibly be any worse than what's going on now. The Rangers aren't even that good but Garcia and Calhoun played home run derby, gotta tip your cap to them and move on. The loss dropped the Sox to 13-21, good for last place in the AL East. Things don't get any easier for the Sox as now they come home to face their nemesis, the defending American League champion Houston Astros. Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock gets the start for the Red Sox against Jake Odorizzi for the Astros. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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