Final, Red Sox 4-2: And that’ll do it.
Koji Uehara works a perfect ninth inning, and the Red Sox take the rubber match of their series with the Texas Rangers.
Offense was hard to come by for both sides for much of the game, but a three-run home run by David Ortiz in the bottom of the eighth proved to be the difference.
The Red Sox will now travel to New York, where they’ll take on Jacoby Ellsbury and the Yankees on Thursday for the first time this season.
Bottom 8th, Red Sox 4-2: David Ortiz, ladies and gentlemen.
Ortiz blasted Cotts’ third pitch — a two-seamer — over Pesky’s Pole in right field for a three-run homer, putting the Red Sox ahead 4-2.
And I do mean over the pole — the umpires called for an official review of the play to determine whether the ball was fair or foul. It was fair, and the Red Sox will take a two-run lead into the ninth.
Xander Bogaerts grounded out for the final out of the inning.
Koji Uehara comes into the game in search of his second save of the season.
Bottom 8th, Rangers 2-1: The Rangers should have been able to pick up yet another double play on a Dustin Pedroia grounder, but Elvis Andrus bobbles the ball and is only able to get Sizemore at second.
Neal Cotts now replaces Alexi Ogando on the mound for Texas. He’ll face David Ortiz with one out and runners at the corners.
Bottom 8th, Rangers 2-1: Jackie Bradley Jr. works a leadoff walk (his third of the day) and A.J. Pierzynski — pinch-hitting for Jonny Gomes — bloops a single just inside the right field line.
Grady Sizemore is now on to pinch-run for Pierzynski with Dustin Pedroia at the plate.
Mid 8th, Rangers 2-1: With two innings to play, the Red Sox now find themselves behind for the first time today.
Elvis Andrus led off the eighth inning with a double off Andrew Miller, took third on a Prince Fielder groundout and beat Jackie Bradley Jr.’s throw to the plate on a sacrifice fly by Alex Rios.
Mitch Moreland grounded out to third to end frame, but the Sox now have a one-run hole to climb out of.
End 7th, 1-1: Nothing doing for the Sox against Alexi Ogando, who strikes out the side in order.
Daniel Nava and Mike Carp — who was pinch-hitting for Ryan Roberts — both went down looking, and Ogando got David Ross swinging.
Carp’s stay in tonight’s game is brief, as Jonathan Herrera takes over Roberts’ spot at third base.
Right-hander Andrew Miller is now in to pitch for the Sox.
Mid 7th, 1-1: Kouzmanoff singled to put runners on the corners, but Shin-Soo Choo — who had reached base in his first three plate appearances — flied out to center to end the inning.
That closes the book on another strong outing by Jake Peavy, who allowed one run on three hits over 6 2/3 innings, striking out eight and walking four. He’ll again be saddled with a no-decision, though.
Top 7th, 1-1: And just like that, we’re tied.
Mitch Moreland drills a 2-0 pitch from Jake Peavy off the back wall in the Rangers bullpen to knot the score up at one run apiece.
Peavy follows it up by retiring Donnie Murphy and Leonys Martin, but after a walk to Robinson Chirinos, John Farrell elects to bring in Tazawa.
Tazawa will face pinch hitter Kevin Kouzmanoff, whose most recent major league appearance came way back in 2011.
End 6th, Red Sox 1-0: The Red Sox strand Ortiz at second, as Mike Napoli pops out to short and Xander Bogaerts goes down swinging.
Jake Peavy will return to the mound for the seventh with 89 pitches under his belt. Junichi Tazawa is now warming in the Sox ‘pen.
Bottom 6th, Red Sox 1-0: Robbie Ross’ afternoon is over.
After striking out Dustin Pedroia to open the sixth, Ross allowed a rocket of a double to straightaway center field off the bat of David Ortiz.
It was the first extra-base hit Ross allowed in the game — and the second hit overall — but Ron Washington has seen enough. The skipper calls in righty Alexi Ogando to face Miek Napoli.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 1-0: Shin-Soo Choo works a leadoff walk and ends up advancing all the way to third, but Jake Peavy strands him there.
Peavy got Elvis Andrus and Prince Fielder to ground out before getting Alex Rios to fly out to left field for the final out.
Shin-Soo Choo has reached base three times tonight. His eight Rangers teammates have combined to reach twice.
Andrew Miller is now warming in the Red Sox bullpen, and Alexi Ogando is now up for the Rangers as Robbie Ross begins his sixth inning of work.
End 5th, Red Sox 1-0: Robbie Ross has walked six of the last 16 batters he’s faced here this afternoon, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the scoreboard.
The Red Sox have been able to plate just one run in the game, as while Ross has had trouble locating, he’s given up just one hit — and that was an infield single.
In the fifth, Ryan Roberts and David Ross both grounded out to shortstop Elvis Andrus to open the frame, and, after Jackie Bradley Jr. walked for the second time today, Ross struck out Jonny Gomes to end the inning.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 1-0: Jake Peavy used three popups to work around an infield single and set the Rangers down scoreless in the fifth.
Texas has not put a runner past first base since since the first inning, and Peavy’s lone extra-base hit came in the game’s first at-bat.
End 4th, Red Sox 1-0: Yet another inning ends via double play for the Red Sox.
After Mike Napoli led off the inning with a groundout to third, Xander Bogaerts worked a six-pitch walk — Robbie Ross’ fifth of the afternoon — to put a Red Sox runner on base for the third straight inning.
Daniel Nava then turned in a very nice at-bat, fouling off five pitches to further jack up Ross’ pitch count. The ninth pitch of the at-bat — with Bogaerts off and running — was in for strike three, though, and Bogaerts’ slide took him straight past second base. He was tagged out, ending the inning.
That’s the eighth double play the Rangers have turned against the Red Sox in the last two games. Not exactly the recipe for success.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 1-0: Three straight K’s in the fourth for Jake Peavy, who appears fully locked in tonight.
He struck out Prince Fielder, Alex Rios and Mitch Moreland in the frame to run his total to seven strikeouts through four innings.
The Sox will look to give him a bit more of a cushion with Mike Napoli coming to the plate first in the home half.
End 3rd, Red Sox 1-0: It might be time for the Rangers to get somebody up in the bullpen, as Robbie Ross’ control problems lead to the Red Sox’s first run of the game in the third.
After getting David Ross to pop out to the catcher to lead off the inning, Ross walked both Jackie Bradley Jr. (on four pitches) and Jonny Gomes. It was the first walk of the season for Bradley, and the fourth time Gomes has reached base in the last two games.
Dustin Pedroia then reached on an infield hit that traveled about 20 feet from home plate, and Ross threw the ball into right field, allowing Bradley to come around and score from second.
As it has throughout this series, though, a double play prevented the Red Sox from tacking on more runs. David Ortiz grounded into a 4-6-3 DP to end the inning.
Mid 3rd, 0-0: A one-out walk was wiped off the bases, and Peavy completes his third scoreless frame of the night.
The righty started the inning by striking out No. 9 hitter Josh Wilson for his fourth punchout in five batters.
He then walked notorious Peavy-killer Shin-Soo Choo, who doubled to lead off the game. Choo got greedy with his lead off first base, though, and catcher David Ross fired down to Mike Napoli to pick him off.
Elvis Andrus sent a sharp ground ball up the middle, but Dustin Pedroia ranged to his right and made a nice sliding play to record the final out.
End 2nd, 0-0: Some early control issues by Robbie Ross in the second prompted an early mound visit by Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux.
Ross walked Mike Napoli and Xander Bogaerts before striking Daniel Nava out looking for the inning’s first out. Nava wasn’t happy with the call, and he lingered at home plate for a moment before walking back to the dugout.
Ross was able to get out of the inning when Ryan Roberts, who is still looking for his first hit in a Red Sox uniform, grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: Jake Peavy makes quick work of the Rangers in the second, sandwiching two strikeouts around a Leonys Martin flyout to left field.
That four-pitch walk last frame is looking like a bit of a fluke now, as Peavy threw 10 of his 13 pitches for strikes in the second inning .
End 1st, 0-0: Robbie Ross has a much easier time getting through his first inning of the day than Jake Peavy did.
Jonny Gomes and Dustin Pedroia both grounded out to third base to start the game, and David Ortiz’s chopper in front of the plate was easily handled by catcher Robinson Chirinos, who fired to first for the final out.
Second baseman Donnie Murphy will be the first to bat for the Rangers in the top of the second.
Mid 1st, 0-0: An extra-base hit to lead off the game is spoiled, as Peavy escapes the first inning unscathed.
After Shin-Soo Choo’s leadoff double, Elvis Andrus and Prince Fielder followed by grounding out to first and second, respectively. Fielder’s grounder allowed Choo to advance to third, and Peavy walked Alex Rios on four pitches to put runners on the corners with two outs.
That became two runners in scoring position when Rios stole second on a 1-2 pitch, but Peavy struck out Mitch Moreland swinging to end the threat, with David Ross completing the play by tossing to first after a dropped third strike.
Robbie Ross Jr. now takes the mound for the Rangers. He’ll face Jonny Gomes, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz here in the home half of the first.
4:07 p.m.: The Rangers are off to a quick start, as Shin-Soo Choo ropes a leadoff double past Jackie Bradley Jr in left-center field.
Choo, Elvis Andrus and Prince Fielder are due up first for the visitors in the top of the first.
3:55 p.m.: With first pitch set for just about ten minutes from now, lets take a look at the starting lineup for the Red Sox.
Grady Sizemore gets the afternoon off after going 3-for-4 with a run scored in Tuesday night’s loss, meaning Jackie Bradley Jr. will start in center field. It’ll be the fifth straight start for Bradley, who has exceeded expectations thus far this season. The 23-year-old has eight hits in 19 at-bats so far, including five in his last two games.
Another Red Sox player who had a nice game at the plate Tuesday was Jonny Gomes, who reached base three times (a hit and two walks), drove in a run and scored from the leadoff spot. He’ll be back at the top of the order today, followed by Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz.
Let’s play some ball.
2:25 p.m. ET: After splitting the first two games of their three-game series at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers will take the field Wednesday afternoon for the rubber match.
The Red Sox will start right-hander Jake Peavy, who tossed six solid innings but earned a no-decision in his season debut last Friday — a 6-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Peavy has traditionally struggled against the Rangers (0-2, 7.59 ERA, 1.59 WHIP in four starts), but he has not pitched against Texas since 2012, when he was a member of the Chicago White Sox.
Opposing Peavy will be 24-year-old lefty Robbie Ross Jr., who has yet to start a game against the Red Sox in his young career. Ross has made five relief appearances against Boston, however, allowing a run on five hits in 3 1/3 total innings.
In fact, the southpaw made his first major league start just last Wednesday, when he surrendered three runs (two earned) on seven hits and two walks over five innings and earned a no-decision in a 4-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
We’ll be back with more on the hitters these pitchers will be facing in just a bit, but in the meantime, take a look at each team’s starting lineup below. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m.
Boston Red Sox (3-5)
Jonny Gomes, LF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Xander Bogaerts, SS
Daniel Nava, RF
Ryan Roberts, 3B
David Ross, C
Jackie Bradley Jr., CF
Jake Peavy, RHP
Texas Rangers (4-4)
Shin-Soo Choo, LF
Elvis Andrus, SS
Prince Fielder, 1B
Alex Rios, RF
Mitch Moreland, 1B
Donnie Murphy, 2B
Leonys Martin, CF
Robinson Chirinos, C
Josh Wilson, 3B
Robbie Ross, Jr. LHP
