The Red Sox defeated the Texas Rangers 11-3 as their offense continues to ride their impressive form. Saturday’s win marks the first series win for Boston since their April 11-13 series against the Detroit Tigers.
The Red Sox improved to 13-20 on the season, and the Rangers fell to 13-19.
You can check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Designated hitter J.D. Martinez got the offense rolling early. He hit a 404-foot solo shot to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, the longest such streak in Major League Baseball. The Red Sox leader in home runs, Rafael Devers hit his sixth homer of the year, and it bounced off the foul pole. Similar to how the Red Sox had a four-run sixth inning Friday night, Boston rode their way to victory off a four-run second inning.
Rich Hill was activated off the COVID-19 injured list and did his part to maintain the lead. The 42-year-old pitched a season-high six innings and struck out four Rangers batters. The Red Sox bullpen also impressed pitching three scoreless innings in relief for Hill.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Martinez hit his fourth home run of the year Saturday night off a slider from Rangers starting pitcher Glenn Otto. The Red Sox designated hitter batted 2-for-3 on the night.
— Kiké Hernández may have batted 1-for-5 but the center fielder had 3 RBIs to increase Boston’s lead over the Rangers.
— Devers hit a two-run homer to put the Red Sox up 5-1 in the second inning. The Red Sox third baseman batted 2-for-5 and scored two runs.
WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook closed Trevor Story’s stolen base prop at 11-to-1. His stolen base in the fifth inning, his second steal of the year, would have paid out $1200 off a $100 bet. Martinez’s home run prop closed at +320. A $100 bet on Martinez to hit a home run would have paid out $420.
UP NEXT ON NESN
The Red Sox will look to sweep the series against the Rangers on Sunday. First pitch is set for 2:35 p.m. ET at Globe Life Field. Full coverage of the game will be on NESN following an hour of pregame.
