Red Sox 10, Rangers 6: Extra-Base Hits Are For Suckers

It’s nice when sloppy defense actually benefits the Red Sox for a change. Granted, it would be even nicer if the Red Sox didn’t also play sloppy defense while benefitting from the opposing team’s misplays, but hey, as the old saying that we all know goes: you don’t look a sloppy gift horse in its sloppy horse mouth.

The Red Sox won this game thanks to a seventh inning in which the Rangers simply could not get the Red Sox out. Beyond simply putting the bat on the ball (which is hard, I know) the Red Sox lineup was not particularly prolific this inning. They hit no homers.; there was only one single extra-base hit; the ball frequently did not leave the infield. And yet the Red Sox just kept reaching base. There was Kiké’s bloop single that scored two, thanks to an errant throw by Rangers left fielder Robbie Grossman. Christian Arroyo hit a ball that only turned into a single because the infield was drawn in. Masataka Yoshida hit a chopper that threatened to knock out a few surveillance drones before finally coming down. By the time the Rangers managed to record three outs and made their way back to the dugout, they’d given up six runs on seven hits and two walks. And, again, the Sox just one single double in the entire frame.

It was a weird, fun night at Fenway. Kutter Crawford kept putting himself into trouble, only to escape with minimal damage. Nasty Nate Eovaldi returned and didn’t look sharp, but pitched well enough to leave the game with the lead. By the time Chris Martin closed out the ninth after Justin Garza and his Dadaist mustache threatened to let the Rangers back in the game, the Sox had taken two out of three from one of the best teams in the league.

Now they await one of the worst teams in the league. And — given the way this team has played down to its competition with performances that swing wildly from one series to the next — I’m scared.

Three Studs

Rafael Devers: 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 R

Connor Wong: 3-3, 1 RBI

Josh Winckowski: 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Three Duds

Kiké Hernandez: 1-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K, and two mistakes on a single play that led to a Rangers run

David Hamilton: 0-2, K

Justin Garza: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 BB

Play Of The Game

By WPA, it was the aforementioned bloop hit by Kiké in the seventh. But what made this play wasn't what Kiké did at the plate, but what Adam Duvall did on the base paths. This is some smart, aggressive base running: