BSJ Game Report: Red Sox 12, Rangers 10 - Three things we learned

The Red Sox opened their last road series of the year with a 12-10 win over the Texas Rangers; here are three things we learned:

1. The Red Sox will finish with a winning record!

That exclamation point, of course, is meant to be ironic. When the team gathered in Fort Myers, the goal was not to finish above .500. Especially considering the fact this team was coming off a world championship, a winning record in the following year is hardly any sort of  accomplishment.

Their sights were, properly, set considerably higher. And yet here the Red Sox are. Even if the Sox were to run the table the rest of the way -- an unlikely proposition, given how inconsistent the Sox have been all season -- they would finish with just 87 wins. But there is this to consider: at least the Red Sox avoided bottoming out the way they did in 2012, 2014 and 2015. In each of those seasons, the Sox not only missed the playoffs, but also managed to finish last in the division. This year, they fell well short of their goal, but at least managed to be mediocre -- which is better than in recent history.

2. Mookie Betts left the game with a sore left foot.

Betts ran into the right field wall while chasing a ball hit by Delino DeShields and came out of the game in the bottom of the third. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be terribly newsworthy. Minor injuries happen all the time and players leave, only to return the following night. It seems that Betts merely aggravated the foot and while he'll be held out as a precaution Wednesday night and perhaps Thursday afternoon, too, he's expected to be available for the final series of the year, which begins Friday. Betts missed five games recently with inflammation in the same foot and didn't return until the team began the road trip in Tampa Bay. With just five games remaining on the schedule, if the injury was any more serious, it's possible that Alex Cora and the training staff wouldn't want to risk putting him back on the field, given that these games have little significance. Further, with the uncertainty surrounding his future in Boston, it's possible that Betts is traded this winter rather than the Sox risking the chance of him leaving as a free agent after 2020. All of that seems moot, now, as Betts confirmed that he came out of the game as a precaution and expected to play again soon.

3. Sox almost play another four-hour game.

Watch a game like Tuesday night and try to convince yourself that baseball doesn't have a pace-of-play program. The first inning alone between the Red Sox and Rangers took 50 minutes. Repeat: the first inning took almost an hour. That isn't sustainable for the game in terms of its business model. Even the hardcore Red Sox fans tuning in to an otherwise insignificant game had to feel their patience being tried. Ultimately, the game fell exactly one minute shy of the four-hour mark at 3:59. And to think, one more foul ball, or a one more hitter re-adjusting his batting gloves would have pushed this one over the limit, too. That would have been historic, too, since the Sox have already played 16 games that have lasted four hours or more, tying the all-time record. Granted, some of those were extra-inning contests -- the Sox are second in the American League with 17 of those, too -- but they're also fully capable of playing marathons within nine innings, as last night (nearly) demonstrated. Even if the Sox don't play another four-hour game, they'll finish the season averaging one every 10 games.