The two teams, who would meet in the American League Division Series if the playoffs began today, continue to produce a steady stream of one-sided affairs. They have gone more than a year now without a nip-and-tuck affair that would involve much in the way of late-game maneuvering and shutdown relievers.
Texas took the season series Sunday with an 11-4 win. The Rangers' six wins over the Sox in 2011 came by an astonishing margin of 51-15. Meanwhile, Boston outscored Texas 42-14 in its four victories in the series.
Sunday saw the Rangers chase John Lackey after five-plus innings, scoring six runs against him and then pouring it on when the bullpen took over. That type of game has been rather consistent in the streak of one-sidedness.
"When you get to the bullpen so early, both teams have such good offenses, when you make a mistake you spread it out," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Neither team has really been able to get to a Bard or Pap. There just haven't been close games. You get to the bullpen in the fourth or fifth innings, both teams have been able to spread those games out."
The starting pitcher on the losing team lasted an average of 4 2/3 innings in the 10 meetings this year. That includes three starts that were less than four innings and just one that lasted longer than six — Clay Buchholz's 6 1/3 innings in a loss in Arlington on April 3.
All 10 games were decided by four runs or more. The average margin of victory was 6.4 runs.
The last save recorded in a Red Sox-Rangers game came last August when Felix Doubront picked one up for Boston. Jonathan Papelbon has not recorded a save against Texas since Aug. 12, 2008. The teams have met 34 times since then.
Although the Sox and Rangers have been to the playoffs a combined 13 times since the postseason was expanded in 1995, they have never met in October. If you crave late-game, nail-biting drama in the playoffs, you might want to hope it stays that way.
