Thanks for following along, and be sure to check back on Thursday for the series conclusion.
Postgame 8-7 Red Sox: A bit of housecleaning here: Julio Borbon's bunt has been changed to hit. That gives Beckett another hit and another earned run on the stat line.
Final, 8-7 Red Sox: It's over. Kevin Youkilis hit a 3-2 pitch deep into left-center field, it caught a bit of the stiff breeze, and Marco Scutaro scored the winning run.
More updates to come in a bit,
Bottom 12th, 7-7: With a runner on second, the Rangers are walking Dustin Pedroia to get to Kevin Youkilis.
You can bet Youk is licking his chops right now.
Mid 12th, 7-7: Will the walk-off come in the 12th? Okajima did his job, retiring the Texas side in order. Jeremy Hermida — not David Ortiz or Victor Martinez — will pinch hit for Josh Reddick, who looked completely overmatched in his at-bat against Feliz.
End 11th, 7-7: The fans gave Darnell McDonald a standing ovation … and he grounded out to second to end the inning.
Hideki Okajima is walking in from the bullpen, so if you were hoping to go to bed before midnight, you may want to adjust your plans.
Middle 11th, 7-7: Just as he did on Tuesday night, Papelbon was hitting his spots and pounding the strike zone. He finished off two perfect innings, needing just 15 pitches to do so. Of those 15 pitches, 13 were strikes.
Varitek (0-4, 3 K's), Beltre (0-4) and McDonald (1-2, HR, 2 BBs) due up to face Dustin Nippert.
End 10th, 7-7: Dustin Pedroia was swinging for the fences, but he came up a bit short, and the Red Sox go down in order. Papelbon's back out for the 11th, having thrown just five pitches.
Middle 10th, 7-7: Papelbon gets through the meat of the Texas order in just five pitches, thanks largely to a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Vlad Guerrero.
Who wants to be the hero? Pedroia, Youkilis or Lowell?
The fans here this evening have given Lowell some monster ovations all night, so it would seem fitting for him to be the man. We shall see.
Top 10th, 7-7: Both teams have batters 3, 4 and 5 due up in the 10th.
End 9th, 7-7: So Neftali Feliz throws strikes. Hard.
The reliever's first six pitches were all strikes, and they were all either 99 or 100 mph. Throwing nothing but the heater, he struck out Reddick and Scutaro before inducing a flyout to left off the bat of J.D. Drew.
Heading to extras. Jonathan Papelbon is in the game.
Middle 9th, 7-7: Bard just finished off his second perfect inning with a strikeout of Michael Young. The stage is now set for a second straight walk-off for the home team.
Neftali Feliz is in the game for the Rangers.
Bard threw 29 pitches — 21 for strikes — and he looked like the guy he was expected to be. Must be the preparation.
Top 9th, 7-7: With one out in the ninth, the Rangers now have the top of the order coming up. The Red Sox have Reddick, Scutaro and Drew due up in the bottom half of the inning.
End 8th, 7-7: Darnell McDonald couldn't get the big hit this time, as he flies out harmlessly to center.
In other news, the music operator at the park just accidentally let the first two notes of "Shipping Up To Boston" ring out. The crowd got a bit excited, but then Bard climbed out of the dugout. We all make mistakes sometimes.
Bottom 8th, 7-7: Jonathan Papelbon is warming for the Red Sox, in the event they score here in the bottom of the eighth.
The closer threw 20 pitches on Tuesday night, so he should have an inning in him.
Middle 8th, 7-7: What an inning from Daniel Bard. He just shut the Rangers down in order, striking out two and inducing a harmless groundout to the mound. He needed just 16 pitches, and there's no action yet in the Red Sox' bullpen, so he may be back for the ninth.
Darren O'Day is in the game for the Rangers. O'Day may always be known for wearing Kason Gabbard's jersey in his debut … and giving up the game-winning hit.
Top 8th, 7-7: In case you're wondering, the Boston bench has Victor Martinez, Jeremy Hermida and David Ortiz available to hit. I'm not sure you can pinch hit for McDonald, as he's yet to be retired in five plate appearances. With Hall already out of the game, Hermida would likely have to come in as a defensive replacement if Martinez were to hit.
This is, of course, all assuming that Bard can close out the eighth without issue.
Top 8th, 7-7: Daniel Bard's now in the game for Boston. Beckett's ugly final line:
7 IP, 7 R, 6 ER, 6 H, 5 BB, 4 SO
Of those five walks, four came around to score.
End 7th, 7-7: Nothing doing for the Red Sox in the seventh, and now both teams have six outs to try to win this one in nine.
There may have been an opportunity for David Ortiz to pinch hit, had Reddick not already gone in to replace Hall. Based on Francona's pregame comments, giving Ortiz an at-bat late in the game wouldn't seem likely anyway. But still …
Middle 7th, 7-7: Josh Beckett came that close to earning the "Beckett gives gutsy seven-inning performance" headlines. The difference between gutsy and bad came down to one swing from Josh Hamilton.
The Rangers' left fielder mashed — mashed — a 3-2 pitch from Beckett to dead center. Darnell McDonald turned around to watch, but that's about all he could do. Because Borbon had reached on an error and Andrus walked, the three-run dinger tied things up at 7-7.
Chris Ray is on for the Rangers, and Beckett's night is in all likelihood over after 113 pitches.
Top 7th, 7-4 Red Sox: Kevin Youkilis just got charged with an error. It's his first of the year.
Top 7th, 7-4 Red Sox: Josh Beckett is back on the mound to start the seventh. Josh Reddick is now in the game for Bill Hall.
The crowd also just let out a big cheer when the Bruins score was changed to show that the B's have tied their game against the Sabres.
Bottom 6th, 7-4 Red Sox: It is impossible to retire Darnell McDonald, in case you were wondering.
Mid 6th, 7-4 Red Sox: Beckett completes his second straight 1-2-3 inning, and at just 93 pitches, he should at least be back out to start the seventh.
Though he got off to a rocky start, he's been perfect since Varitek saved that run in the fourth.
End 5th, 7-4 Red Sox: Another inning, another RBI for No. 25.
After Youkilis got things started with a two-out double, Lowell stepped to the plate and drilled a Mathis pitch off the Monster. Youk scored easily, and Lowell had his second RBI of the evening.
Bottom 5th, 6-4 Red Sox: After 95 minutes of stalling, Ron Washington has summoned Doug Mathis from the bullpen.
Mathis has a 4.76 ERA in three appearances this year.
Bottom 5th, 6-4 Red Sox: And that right there was the grandest ovation ever given to a guy hitting .149. It's funny what one grand slam can accomplish.
Mid 5th, 6-4 Red Sox: It took a while, but Beckett finally delivers a 1-2-3 inning. He's at 80 pitches through five, so you'd like to think he'll be able to at least get through six in this one.
End 4th, 6-4 Red Sox: You've got to be kidding me, Darnell McDonald.
The outfielder just homered — his second in as many nights — to extend the lead to 6-4. He's now reached base in all four of his plate appearances, and he's scored three runs.
He's the first player to homer in each of his first two games with the Red Sox since Sam Horn did so in 1987.
Mid 4th, 5-4 Red Sox: Jason Varitek has gotten older, but he's still one of the smartest guys behind the plate in the majors.
With a runner on third and one out, Michael Young hit a shallow fly to center field. McDonald made the catch, and Julio Borbon tried to score. Borbon beat the throw, but he couldn't beat Varitek, who was blocking the plate with his left leg. Varitek gathered the ball and applied the tag, ending the inning and keeping the Rangers off the board for the second consecutive frame.
Ron Washington came out to argue, but it was clear as day from 75 feet away that Borbon never got a piece of the plate.
End 3rd, 5-4 Red Sox: With one swing of the bat, the Sox are back in front, thanks to a huge slump-busting grand slam from J.D. Drew (that guy has a knack for that, doesn't he?).
Following a McDonald walk, Bill Hall single and Scutaro single, Drew stepped up with the bases full and nobody out. Obviously, he's been struggling through April, so expectations were fairly low.
Yet Drew surprised just about everyone when, in a 2-2 count, he got out ahead of a Hamilton pitch and wrapped it around Pesky's Pole in right field.
In doing so, he gave Beckett the lead for the first time of the night. Let's see what he can do with it.
Mid 3rd, 4-1 Rangers: Beckett just left the Rangers with their first zero of the night, but it still was not a clean inning. Chris Davis smoked a Beckett pitch high off the Monster for a double, but he was stranded.
There was an interesting play on a routine 6-3 putout, as Davis was caught off second base. Marco Scutaro elected to throw to first, even though he had Davis dead to rights in the basepath. It didn't come back to bite the Red Sox, but it seemed at the time to be the wrong decision.
End 2nd, 4-1 Rangers: Mike Lowell just knows how to hit the baseball.
Starting in place of David Ortiz, Lowell sent a 3-2 pitch flying over the Green Monster to get the Red Sox on the board.
Varitek and Beltre, however, strike out consecutively to end the inning.
One note on Harrison: This guy works fast. I mean, really fast. Once he gets his sign, he takes his right foot off the rubber for a split-second, and before you know it, the pitch is in the catcher's mitt. Basically, he's the exact opposite of Josh Beckett.
Bottom 2nd, 4-0 Rangers: Borbon's now been there for two straight innings to rob Red Sox of leadoff hits. This time, he tracked down a Kevin Youkilis liner just shy of the center-field triangle.
Mid 2nd, 4-0 Rangers: It's safe to say that the glow from Tuesday night is officially gone.
Beckett walked two batters and gave up a triple, and all three runners scored. Add in a misplayed ball by McDonald (which resulted in the triple), another stolen base (courtesy of Andrus) and another 28 pitches for Beckett (at 48 through two innings), and it was not a pretty inning in Boston.
Dustin Pedroia, thankfully for the Red Sox, ended the inning with a beautiful diving catch on a liner off the bat of Guerrero.
End 1st, 1-0 Rangers: Marco Scutaro made some solid contact off Harrison, but Julio Borbon was shaded perfectly and broke perfectly on the liner to right-center. Borbon made the diving catch for the first out, and Drew and Pedroia were retired in order.
With Drew struggling mightily, will Francona be forced to pinch hit him for … Ortiz?
Mid 1st, 1-0 Rangers: It looked to be a promising first inning for Beckett, who retired Elvis Andrus and Michael Young in short order, but it turned quickly.
Josh Hamilton worked a walk before Vladimir Guerrero wasted no time in sending a first-pitch fastball into left-center field. Darnell McDonald bobbled it, but even if he had fielded it cleanly, it wouldn't have made a difference. Guerrero cruised into second and Hamilton scored from first.
It took Beckett 20 pitches to get out of the first, and the Red Sox yet again have to play from behind.
7:10 p.m.: The first pitch has been delivered by Josh Beckett — a fastball down the pipe to Elvis Andrus.
7:07 p.m.: Darnell McDonald got the biggest cheer as the lineup was announced. Pretty crazy for a guy who woke up in Pawtucket yesterday.
6:54 p.m.: The Red Sox don't have a ton of history against Texas starter Matt Harrison, but here are the numbers:
Adrian Beltre: 4-for-10, double, home run, 3 RBIs
Mike Lowell: 2-for-3, double
Dustin Pedroia: 0-for-2, walk
Kevin Youkilis: 1-for-3, home run, 3 RBIs
Francona noted in his pregame meeting that he specifically wanted to get Lowell in the lineup to face Harrison. David Ortiz has also faced Harrison (1-for-3, strikeout), but he is not in the lineup.
6:43 p.m.: First pitch is fewer than 30 minutes away, and it's a beautiful night to be at the ballpark. The air temperature is 63 degrees, and there's a stiff breeze blowing out to left-center.
5:56 p.m.: Vlad Guerrero may be 35 years old, but he can still rake. He just send a BP pitch well over Lansdowne Street.
5:43 p.m.: Just a friendly reminder that this evening's Red Sox game will air on NESNplus. To find the NESNplus channel in your area, click here.
5:21 p.m.: You can read about Terry Francona's take on David Ortiz's struggles and frustrations by clicking here.
Yet Ortiz isn't the only one who's struggling, as J.D. Drew is batting just .133 with a .250 OBP through 14 games. After starting the season with four hits in five games, he has just two hits in his last eight games with an at-bat (he was a ninth-inning defensive replacement last Sunday in Kansas City).
Francona said that Drew's struggles are similar to those of Ortiz in that both hitters are getting their hands ahead of their bodies. Francona noted that Drew has some of the best hitter's hands in the game, but "when the hands come forward, there's not a lot a lot left to do with the ball."
Lastly, Francona noted that Drew may be more frustrated than he is showing.
"I'm sure he's not happy, but he handles things very well," Francona said. "I think he's been frustrated. Everybody shows it differently."
4:53 p.m.: Darnell McDonald talked about his whirlwind 24 hours earlier. See what he had to say here.
He also said that his wife tends to not be present for some of his better baseball moments, but she was in the park for Tuesday night's game.
4:39 p.m.: Terry Francona just touched on a few topics, though he spent a while explaining the struggles of David Ortiz.
Francona said that Ortiz took some extra hitting earlier in the afternoon, focusing on getting a solid base and driving the ball to left field. We'll have a more extensive update shortly.
3:22 p.m.: Darnell McDonald will likely receive the best ovation of his life when he steps to the plate this evening, as he's penciled into the lineup, starting in center field and batting eighth.
He said shortly after his walk-off single on Tuesday night that signing with the Red Sox was a no-brainer, given the opportunity to play at Fenway Park. He certainly made the most of his first opportunity.
The lineup for Wednesday is below:
1. Marco Scutaro, SS
2. J.D. Drew, RF
3. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. Mike Lowell, DH
6. Jason Varitek, C
7. Adrian Beltre, 3B
8. Darnell McDonald, CF
9. Bill Hall, LF
2:20 p.m.: Just reading up on Theo Epstein, and it appears that even the GM of the Boston Red Sox can get a little nervous about public speeches — at least when the team's struggling in April.
Thanks to Darnell McDonald, though, Epstein was fairly confident he'd get a warm welcome on Wednesday.
8:05 a.m.: On Tuesday night, it looked like everything that could go wrong would go wrong for the Red Sox. In stepped Darnell McDonald.
The late Pawtucket call-up homered in his first Red Sox at-bat, but that was just the opening act. In the bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded, McDonald got just enough of a Frank Francisco pitch to scrape the Green Monster, and the Red Sox walked off with a win.
On Wednesday, they'll turn to Josh Beckett to attempt to match their longest win streak of the year — two.
Check NESN.com throughout the day for the latest news, and check back with the live blog leading up to the game and through the final pitch for updates from the park.
