All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' win over the Rangers, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Story in a groove: Ever since he came off a lengthy stay on the IL (finger, wrist), Trevor Story has been locked in at the plate, and that was never more so than on Sunday. In the first inning, he hammered a three-run homer to left, erasing a lead the Rangers had taken in the top of the inning. Later, Story added a double and a single, giving him his fourth three-hit game of the season and, importantly, the third in the last six games. Since returning, Story is batting .464 (13-for-28) and five of his last seven hits have gone for extra bases. During his rehab stint, Story made some adjustments at the plate, reintroducing a toe tap in his load at the plate, and the improved timing has resulted in this latest hot streak. It helps, too, that Story is back to using the entire field -- he hit one hit to left, one to center and one to right.
Bogaerts takes over AL batting lead: It seems like it wasn't long ago that Xander Bogerts had dipped below .300 - he was down to .299 on Aug. 7. Now, he's leading the league with a .317 average, on the strength of games like Sunday when he was 3-for-4. Bogaerts doubled in the first, singled in the second -- both hits produced runs -- and later added another single in the seventh. It marked the eighth straight time that he had multiple hits; he also has multiple hits in 10 of his last 11 games, during which he's scored 11 runs and knocked in 13. Bogaerts was able to grind through a rough patch and is now seemingly poised for a strong September, which can only help his pending free agency.
Winckowski rebounds after first: Josh Winckowski, filling in as an emergency starter, looked like he was in danger of a short outing. In the first inning, the Rangers teed off on him with some hard-hit balls, resulting in two runs. The Red Sox noticed that even his body language was off, which was addressed by pitching coach Dave Bush after the inning. Winckowski was actually featuring one of his better fastballs of the season, regularly touching 95 mph, and the Sox advised him to use to attack the zone aggressively, which he did. What followed was three shutout innings. His pitch count necessitated that it was a short afternoon as he was lifted after four. But thereafter, four relievers combined to get the final 15 outs.
TURNING POINT
Having fallen behind 2-0 in the top of the first, the Red Sox didn't take long to respond. A run-scoring single by Xander Bogaerts got a run back quickly, but the big blow in the four-run first was a three-run shot over everything by Trevor Story. Just in case the Rangers were getting ideas about jumping on the Sox and piling on, the Red Sox answered back immediately. Story knew it was gone and gave it a stylish bat flip. From the first inning on, there were no lead changes as the Sox added one more in the second and kept it that way the rest of the way.
TWO UP
Kaleb Ort: The reliever continues to provide innings for the Red Sox out of the bullpen. Since being recalled on Aug. 29, he's made four scoreless appearances. On Sunday, that included two shutdown innings.
Rob Refsnyder: Getting a start in center, Refsnyder did the job offensively, reaching base three times with two base hits and a walk.
TWO DOWN
Franchy Cordero: He got the start in left field, but couldn't produce anything at the plate, going hitless in four plate appearances.
Rafael Devers: Following a stretch that saw him collect four doubles in his three previous games, Devers was 0-for-4 including hitting into a double play.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"He's a very good player and he knows that. That's the kind of guy you want. It surprised me how relaxed he was.'' Trevor Story on Triston Casas.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The win was the fifth in a row for the Red Sox, who are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
* The sweep was their sixth of the season and fourth at home.
* The Sox improved to 25-8 against the AL West.
* Xander Bogaerts has multiple hits in 10 of his last 11 games.
UP NEXT: The Red Sox begin a six-game road trip with the first of three at Tropicana Field. It will be RHP Michael Wacha (10-1, 2.56) vs. TBD at 4:10 p.m.