The Boston Red Sox did not have a good time in Texas.
Boston went down 6-2 to the Rangers on Sunday in an all-around lackluster performance. Clay Buchholz put the Red Sox in an early hole with a three-run first inning, but it was a hole this offense could have pulled itself out of. Instead, the Red Sox stranded baserunners left and right as the Rangers piled it on.
Here’s a recap of Sunday’s loss.
GAME IN A WORD
Baffling.
There’s really no good reason why the Red Sox didn’t have more runs in this game. Boston had eight hits, but left eight men on base and went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. More run support early might have helped Buchholz settle down, too, but that’s something we’ll never know.
IT WAS OVER WHEN …
The Red Sox couldn’t get a rally going in the ninth inning.
Boston overcame a three-run deficit in the ninth inning of Friday’s game to win it. That wasn’t the case Sunday.
ON THE BUMP
— Buchholz was tagged for five runs, but his outing actually wasn’t quite as bad as the box score. The right-hander had an abysmal first inning, giving up three runs on four singles and two walks, one intentional. But Buchholz pitched four scoreless frames after that and had slightly more control.
The tides turned again in the sixth inning, when shortstop Xander Bogaerts allowed Adrian Beltre to reach on a fielding error, paving the way for a two-run home run off the bat of Prince Fielder. Buchholz finished the day with five runs (four earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts and five walks over 5 1/3 innings.
— Tommy Layne relieved Buchholz after he walked Elvis Andrus following the Fielder home run, and the left-hander induced a double play to end the sixth.
— Heath Hembree came on in the seventh and didn’t help Boston’s cause much. The right-hander allowed a run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout in the inning.
— William Cuevas enjoyed a pretty successful eighth inning, giving up one hit, a walk and striking out Jurickson Profar for a scoreless frame.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— It was Bryce Brentz who put the Red Sox on the board Sunday. The left fielder hit his first major league home run, a solo shot in the sixth inning, and went 2-for-3.
David Ortiz pinch-hit for Brentz in the eighth inning and hit an RBI single.
— Mookie Betts had a decent day at the plate, too, going 2-for-5.
— Dustin Pedroia (1-for-3) and Hanley Ramirez (1-for-3) each collected a hit and a walk. Bogaerts went 1-for-4 with a run.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. (0-for-4), Travis Shaw (0-for-4), Sandy Leon (0-for-3 with a walk) and Ryan LaMarre (0-for-3) all went hitless. Marco Hernandez pinch-hit for LaMarre in the ninth and popped out.
TWEET OF THE DAY
Well, there’s good news about Brock Holt, at least.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox jet off to St. Petersburg, Fla., where they’ll look to take advantage of a Tampa Bay Rays team in the middle of an 11-game losing streak. It’ll be a battle between left-handers with Eduardo Rodriguez and the Rays’ Blake Snell set to start Monday’s series opener.
Thumbnail photo via Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports Images
