Travis Shaw supplied a walk-off grand slam to bring the Red Sox a dramatic 8-4 victory over the Texas Rangers in the bottom of the 11th.. The Sox loaded the bases and Shaw ran the count full before hitting a pitch from Dennis Santana over the bullpen.
The Sox had coughed up a two-run lead in the ninth as Matt Barnes blew the save before the teams traded runs in the 10th.
The win enabled the Sox to take the series two games to one.
WHO: Red Sox (70-55) vs. Texas Rangers (43-80)
WHEN: 1: 10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SERIES TO DATE: 1-1
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: TEX 4-2
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (10-8, 3.91) vs. LHP Kolby Allard (3-10, 4.88)
LINEUPS
RANGERS
Hernandez 3B
Kiner-Falefa SS
Garcia RF
Lowe 1B
Peters CF
Martin LF
Solak 2B
Ibanez DH
Trevino C
RED SOX
Hernandez 2B
Schwarber LF
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Renfroe RF
Plawecki C
Verdugo CF
Dalbec 1B
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
B10: One strike away from the end, Devers drives a double to the triangle and scores Bogaerts to tie it.
T9: Matt Barnes can't protect a two-run lead as Andy Ibanez smokes a ground-rule double into the bullpen and the Rangers come from behind to score twice and tie the game.
B7: Red Sox load the bases with one out, but J.D. Martinez goes down swinging and Xander Bogaerts hits a roller to third as the Sox squander a chance to open the game up.
T7: Eovaldi retires the Rangers in order in the seventh, and that's likely it for him at 94 pitches for the afternoon. Strong effort with four hits and one unearned run allowed over seven innings.
B6: On a fastball down and in, Hunter Renfroe cranks No. 23 of the season into the Monster Seats and the Sox have a little bit of breathing room.
T5: Red Sox made a season-high five errors in Saturday's loss, and Devers makes another one to allow Nick Solark to reach.
T3: A little poetic justice for the Sox. After the Rangers got a gift flare single by Yonny Hernandez, Isiah Kiner-Falefa lines a bullet that gets turned into an inning-ending double play.
B2: Alex Verdugo is gifted with a hanging curveball, right into his swing path, and doesn't miss it -- driving it into the home bullpen for a 2-0 Sox lead
T2: Nathan Eovaldi is being aggressive early on, attacking the strike zone.
B1: Kyle Schwarber, averaging a walk per game since joining the Sox, works a free pass again.
WHAT'S UP: STATE OF THE SOX: The Red Sox are 5-5 in their last 10 games, 15-19 since the All-Star break, and 70-55 overall. .. The Sox have 37 games left in the regular season...15 of those are vs. teams with a losing record (BAL-6, MIN-3, WSH-3, NYM-2, TEX-1) and 22 are vs. teams with at least a .500 record (TB-7, CLE-6, NYY-3, CWS-3, SEA-3). They are 10-8 in their last 18 home games, after going 9-0 in their previous 9...Overall, their .603 win % at home ranks 5th in the AL (10th in MLB)....The Sox are in 3rd place, after starting every day from 4/8-8/17 in either 1st or 2nd place...They trail the Rays by 7.0 games, their largest deficit of the season.... The Sox are 17-9 against the Rangers since the start of 2017, including 9-3 at home in that time..The Red Sox own MLB’s best records when scoring 4+ runs (.849, 62-11) and 5+ runs (tied, .898, 53-6). The Sox have scored 10+ runs in a game 15 times, third most in the majors behind CIN (18) and TOR (16). The Sox are the only AL team to score 15+ runs in a game as many as 3 times this season.... In their last 14 games, Red Sox starters have allowed 26 ER in 68.1 IP (3.42 ERA)...In those 14 games, Sox starters have struck out 78 batters and walked only 17...They allowed 3 ER or fewer in 12 of the 14 games. Only 7 pitchers have started a game for the Sox, the fewest in the majors...They have not used fewer than 8 starting pitchers in a season since 1965 (7)... Rafael Devers has 29 HR and ranks tied for 2nd in MLB in RBI (89)...With 1 more HR, he would join Ted Williams as the only Red Sox to record multiple 30-HR seasons before turning 25 (Devers hit 32 HR in 2019)...Overall, the Sox rank 6th in the MLB in runs scored per game (4.94) and rank in the top 5 in AVG (3rd, .259), SLG (3rd, .441), OPS (4th, .765), doubles (1st, 260), and XBH (1st, 434). The Sox are tied with SF for the MLB lead with 4+ HR (11). The Sox have hit 26 three-run homers, most in the majors (no other AL team has hit more than 22). The Red Sox feature 3 players with at least 20 HR and 50 XBH: Xander Bogaerts (20 HR, 52 XBH), Devers (29 HR, 62 XBH), and J.D. Martinez (23 HR, 59 XBH RBI)...13 teams have none. Devers leads the majors with 180 XBH since the start of 2019, 11 more than any other player...He has 249 career XBH, 1 shy of becoming the 41st player since 1900 with 250+ XBH before turning 25 years old (the only Red Sox to do that are Williams and Bobby Doerr)..... Since 6/27, Kiké Hernández leads the AL in OBP (.403)...In 47 games during that time, he has hit .291 with a .946 OPS while leading the Red Sox in hits (51), runs (31), walks (30), XBH (24, tied), and total bases (95). In the Sox’ first plate appearance of the game since 6/27, Hernández is batting .390 with a 1.346 OPS and only 3 SO (16-for-41, 5 BB, 1 HBP, 6 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR).
NOTES:
* For the first time since being acquired by the Red Sox on July 29, Kyle Schwarber is being used defensively, starting in left field. "It's good and it will be better when he gets to play first (base),'' said Alex Cora. "That's the ultimate goal, the thought process about this whole thing. He's getting close. He's going to go through a workout today at first base. I think Saturday was positive -- we did a lot of stuff out there with outfielders and second basemen and different situations. He moved well. He's up to the challenge. We just have to make sure he's comfortable there and he's feeling that way. It's good to have him in left field, but I think it will be a lot better when he plays first -- maybe this week. I believe it's more about him than anything else. Just me watching him, moving around, he's OK with it. It's trending in the right direction. I can tell you today (it will be) sooner rather than later. I hate putting timelines on it, but maybe we'll see him playing one game (there) before we go on the road (Friday).''
* The Sox moved Schwarber to second in the lineup while dropping Rafael Devers to fifth, "trying to let Raffy breathe a little bit,'' Cora said. "It will be good for him. He's scuffling right now; we know that. We know he'll hit. Moving him and putting him in another spot will benefit him. Hopefully, Kike (Hernandez) and Schwarber, we can see a lot of pitches, get on base and set the table for the big boys.''
* Christian Arroyo returned to the club, activated following a rehab assignment. To make room for his return, the Red Sox optioned infielder Jonathan Arauz to Worcester. Arroyo has missed the last few weeks with a groin strain. "Physically, (Arroyo) is great,'' said Cora. "At-bat wise, he's getting close to his timing. We'll do everything possible to keep getting him up to speed with at-bats indoors. But he doesn't feel like he was far off and we felt like it's good to have him here. He can pinch-run, he can play defense, he can put up a good at-bat against a lefty. That's why we made the move.''
* Danny Santana and Ryan Brasier will continue their rehab assignments with Worcester.
* The Sox will have Tanner Houck start Tuesday, followed by Nick Pivetta Wednesday and Chris Sale Thursday.