The Boston Red Sox ended their three-game series with the Texas Rangers on a rough note, and that's an understatement.
Struggling to climb out of the basement in the American League East, the Red Sox dropped two of three in Texas, losing the series finale in an ugly 15-5 blowout on Wednesday evening. Boston opened the game with a 4-0 rally but failed to maintain the lead, allowing Texas to respond with 15 unanswered runs to keep the Red Sox dead last in the division.
Meanwhile, the loss proved to be a history-making win for the Rangers amid their late-season playoff push -- Texas is in sole possession of the last AL postseason spot.
In crushing the Red Sox by a decade's worth of runs, the Rangers notched their 11th win by 10 or more runs which marked the most ever in franchise history, according to ESPN Stats & Info. That also made Texas the first team to do so since the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers.
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After getting the motor going in the batter's box against Texas starter Jon Gray, the Red Sox lineup was put to sleep by former Boston southpaw Martín Pérez, stumping all chances at a comeback bid.
Pérez pitched 4.2 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just three base hits and one walk while striking out five. It was the fifth consecutive scoreless relief appearance, the highest in terms of innings total, and dropped Pérez to a 1.32 ERA for September.
"What a job he did," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said postgame, per Bally Sports video. "And he's done a tremendous job since he's gone to the bullpen, he's picked us up so many times and he stopped it. He stopped the momentum."
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The Red Sox wrapped up their Texas visit outscored 23-13.
Featured image via Jim Cowsert/USA TODAY Sports Images
