All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' win over the Rangers, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Big Three connect together: For the month of August, the Red Sox got very little production from their Big Three of Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez, as the trio went into a kind of collective slump. That, along with some inconsistency from the starting rotation, helped explain the Sox' fall in the standings. But in recent days, all three have begun to have better at-bats, and Friday night, they combined for six hits and three RBI. Bogaerts got the offense going with a run-scoring double in the first. Devers doubled home Bogaerts in the three-run fifth inning and Martinez followed with a run-scoring single. If the Sox are going to climb back to .500 in the final four weeks, they'll need more nights like that from the heart of their order.
Wong hits his first homer: Getting a start behind the plate after being added to the major league roster Thursday, Connor Wong connected for his major league homer in the seventh inning, a titanic shot over everything in left field. The ball was caught by a couple from out of town, but Red Sox personnel were able to exchange some autographed balls for the home run ball to present to Wong as a souvenir. He had been on a torrid stretch at Worcester, with nine homers in his previous 16 games at Triple-A, and the hope is he can have some of the same results in the big leagues. Alex Cora said he wasn't surprised at the show of strength, recalling a homer he saw Wong hit to dead center field in spring training a year ago.
Pivetta injured: The only sour part of the night was the Red Sox losing starting pitcher Nick Pivetta to an injury in the third inning. Pivetta was struck in the left calf by a liner off the bat from Leody Taveras. He recovered to get the out at first, the third of the inning, but hobbled off the field gingerly. Pivetta is the only starting pitcher to make every one of his starts this season, and after the game Cora said the expectation was that he would take the ball when his turns come up again Wednesday at Tropicana Field. But after his interview with reporters, Pivetta was still unable to put much weight on the leg as he left the the podium, so Cora's prognosis might be overly optimistic.
TURNING POINT
In retrospect, the key out may well have been the one on which Pivetta was injured. Texas had loaded the bases against him with two outs when Leody Taveras lined a ball back to the mound which caught Pivetta on the calf. He was able to scramble and flip the ball to first for the final out, leaving three Texas baserunners stranded. In the bottom of the next inning, the Sox pried the game open with four more runs, but Pivetta's ability to get out of the jam and prevent the Rangers from having a big inning was huge.
TWO UP
Matt Strahm: When Pivetta was injured, the Red Sox had to piece the rest of the game together with the bullpen and Strahm was their best reliever, retiring all six hitters he faced in succession.
KikΓ© Hernandez: Hernandez continues to heat up at the plate, slugging two doubles, each one knocking in a run.
TWO DOWN
Alex Verdugo: It was a rare cold night at the plate for the outfielder, who was 0-for-5 with three groundouts and two strikeouts.
Trevor Story: He beat out an infield hit in the fifth, but otherwise had an off-night with two strikeouts, a flyout and a foul popup.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"That was a good swing. He's got some pop. He looks a lot stronger than last year. He swinging the bat really, really well.'' Alex Cora on Connor Wong's first homer.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The game marked the 22nd time this season in which the Red Sox allowed one or no runs.
* The Red Sox had 10 or more hits for the seventh time in the last nine games and 10th time in their last 16.
* The Sox added to their league-leading doubles total with four more, giving them 302 for the season.
* Boston improved to 23-8 (.742), the best record for any AL team against the West this season.
* J.D. Martinez is now two hits shy of 1,500 for his career.
UP NEXT: In the third game of the four-game set, it will be RHP Brayan Bello (0-4, 7.27) vs. TBD for Texas at 4:10 p.m.