The Boston Red Sox looked like they were on pace for another quiet offensive performance with Chris Sale on the mound, but the seventh inning changed that in a hurry.
The Red Sox scored seven runs in the frame, en route to a 9-4 victory over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night at Fenway Park.
It wasn’t a loud offensive outburst by any means, as only one of Boston’s 12 hits went for extra bases. But timely, situational hitting gave Sale more than enough run support to earn his fifth win of the season.
Sale was average by his standards Wednesday night, as he allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits over 7 1/3 innings of work. He only struck out six Rangers in the contest, ending his streak of double-digit punchout performances at eight, one shy of a Major League Baseball record.
But thanks to a lively offense, the Red Sox racked up their third consecutive victory.
With the win, Boston improved to 24-21, while Texas fell to 24-23.
Here’s how it all went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Rally.
The Red Sox looked doomed for defeat after Rangers starter Martin Perez stymied them through six strong innings. The bats would wake up in the seventh, though, and lifted Boston to a come-from-behind victory.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
The Red Sox’s offense erupted for seven runs in the seventh inning, and tacked on an “insurance” run in the eighth, putting the game well out of the Rangers’ reach.
ON THE BUMP
— Sale wasn’t his overpowering self Wednesday night, but the left-hander’s outing was more than enough to put the Sox in a position to win.
The Rangers first got to Sale in the fourth inning when Elvis Andrus lifted a sacrifice fly, but it was the fifth inning in which Sale struggled. Former Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli took the lefty deep with a moonshot over the Green Monster to give Texas the lead. Joey Gallo would tack on an RBI single to give the Rangers a two-run lead after five.
Sale would settle down, and stayed on for the eighth after Boston’s seven-run seventh inning. He wouldn’t last long, though, as a Delino DeShields Jr. double and Shin-Soo Choo single forced Sale out of the game with only one out in the eighth inning.
— Joe Kelly came on in relief and got Boston out of the inning by forcing Andrus to line out and Jonathan Lucroy to ground out. Kelly would stay on for the ninth and dodge a leadoff single to earn a scoreless 1 2/3 innings of work.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
 — Sam Travis logged a multi-hit game in his MLB debut. The 23-year-old went 2-for-5 with two singles.
— Mookie Betts plated the Red Sox’s first run in the contest, as his third-inning single scored Deven Marrero. The right fielder knocked in Mitch Moreland with an RBIÂ single in the eighth and finished 2-for-4 on the night.
— Moreland and Josh Rutledge both recorded pinch-hit RBI singles in the seventh inning. Moreland would pick up a single in the eighth inning, as well.
— Dustin Pedroia broke the game open with a two-run single in the seventh, and finished the night 1-for-4 with a walk.
— Xander Bogaerts went 2-for-5 with a ground-rule double.
— Andrew Benintendi (1-for-3) lifted a sacrifice fly in the seventh.
— Chris Young logged the easiest RBI in baseball with a bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning.
— Young, Hanley Ramirez and Sandy Leon all went hitless in the game.
TWEET OF THE DAY
The fifth inning, for whatever reason, hasn’t been kind to Sale.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Rangers will play the finale of their three-game series Thursday night at Fenway Park. Drew Pomeranz is scheduled to get the start for Boston and will be countered by Texas’ Nick Martinez. First pitch from Fenway Park is set for 7:10 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
