All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 4-3 win over the Rangers, complete with BSJ insight and analysis:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Mookie "walks'' it off: In a tie game, the Red Sox loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth with no outs against Texas reliever Jesse Chavez. A flyball to the outfield would have done the trick. As it turned out, Mookie Betts didn't even have to swing the bat. Instead, he worked a five-pitch walk, forcing in pinch-runner Marco Hernandez with the winning run. "He's got to get a strike,'' said Betts of Chavez. "He's the one kind of in trouble there so you can be a little bit more picky in that situation. I was pretty confident (that we could get the run home) knowing that he had to come to me at that point.'' Betts hadn't done anything of note in his first four plate appearances on the afternoon, going 0-for-4 with a strikeout. And the box score will show that he didn't collect a hit in driving home the game-winner. But he did get the RBI and an impromptu Gatorade shower at first base, which may be a first for someone drawing a base on balls.
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1138946813690548224
Benintendi coming on: Since being removed from the leadoff spot almost two weeks ago, Andrew Benintendi has come alive at the plate. He's hit safely in nine of his last 10 games and over his last 12 games, he's slashing .327/.389/.612. On Wednesday, he had one of his best games of the season, with a triple and two doubles, two runs knocked in and a run scored. Coincidentally or not, his big day came when he was particularly aggressive at the plate. In his first three plate appearances, when he totaled seven total bases, Benintendi saw a total of just five pitches, looking to swing early in the count each time against Texas starter Lance Lynn. "I know that his ball goes both ways and he can run it up to 97 mph,'' said Benintendi. "I was trying to get something I could drive early in the count. It just so happened to be however many pitches it was; I was just trying to get something to drive.'' Benintendi said he wasn't especially motivated to have a big game after being ejected Tuesday night: "I don't think there's any correlation there. If there is, I might have to get tossed more.''
https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1138915778030424066
Porcello adjusts quickly: The day did not begin well for starter Rick Porcello. After recording the first two outs, he allowed three hard-hit balls -- a single and two doubles -- which produced a quick 2-0 lead for Texas. After that, however, Porcello made some changes and saw vastly different results, retiring the next 16 hitters in a row and 19 of the last 21 hitters he faced. "We just made a better (pitch) mix,'' explained Porcello. "They were definitely ready for the fastball early in the game and we had to adjust. We did that and it worked. (Christian Vazquez) did a great job making that adjustment and it ended up being the right call.'' Porcello has had difficulty in the first inning often in his career, but isn't sure why that's been the case. "I think it's a thing for a lot of starting pitchers in general,'' he said. "You go out there and you have a plan to establish certain things and if they're ready for it, you find that out pretty early. The key is being to able to adjust and take control back.''
TURNING POINT
In the eighth inning, the Rangers had runners at second and third with one out and though they produced a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 3-3, reliever Brandon Workman, who walked Nomar Mazara intentionally to load the bases, struck out Hunter Pence to leave the bases loaded and keep the game tied, setting up the comeback win for the Sox an inning later.
ONE UP
Rafael Devers: It appears the slump is over. After breaking out of an 0-for-20 the other night, Devers had a two-hit day and knocked in the first run for the Sox with a single.
Christian Vazquez: Vazquez made a poor throw on a bunt attempt that led to an unearned run being scored in the eighth, but he also delivered two hits -- including a double that set up the winning run -- and called a strong game behind the plate.
ONE DOWN
J.D. Martinez: The Red Sox slugger had arguably his worst game of the season, striking out in each of his four plate appearances.
QUOTE OF NOTE:
"Very important. Very, very important.'' Alex Cora on the significance of the win.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- The walk-off win was the third of the season for the Red Sox.
- The Sox had two triples in a game for the first time since July 28, 2018.
- Rick Porcello has allowed just seven walks in his last nine outings.
- For Mookie Betts, it was his fourth career walk-off RBI.