Patrick Sandoval unravels as Red Sox strand chances in 4-2 loss to Rangers

One miserable inning was enough to put the Red Sox in a hole. A pair of missed opportunities prevented them from climbing out of it.

Patrick Sandoval endured a brutal 44-pitch second inning in which the Rangers scored four times, and the Red Sox repeatedly came up empty with runners on base in a 4-2 loss Tuesday night at Globe Life Field.

Boston (82-69) opened its final road trip of the regular season with a loss and fell to 7-6 in September. The Red Sox did, however, move another step closer to securing a postseason berth after Toronto was routed by Detroit, reducing Boston’s magic number to five.

Any potential celebration will have to wait until after the Red Sox leave Texas. Even if Boston wins the final two games of the series, Toronto is off Thursday and would remain mathematically alive entering Friday.

Sandoval’s night began when he struck out the first four Rangers he faced before everything unraveled in a second inning that seemed as though it might never end.

With two outs, Brandon Nimmo and Ezequiel Duran delivered hard-hit singles at 106.3 mph and 105.3 mph, respectively. Elias Díaz followed by pulling a two-run double into left field to give Texas a 2-0 lead.

Sandoval never recovered walking former Sox catcher Danny Jansen and Justin Foscue before Corey Seager dropped a bloop single into shallow left, just beyond the reach of Trevor Story, allowing two more runs to score. By the time Sandoval finally escaped, he had thrown 44 pitches in the inning and Boston trailed 4-0.

Sandoval lasted just 2 2/3 innings and saw his ERA climb to 4.99. 

“They drug at bats out on him,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy told reporters postgame. “It looked like he was going to get out of there with Diaz, that was a long at bat, I think one of those pitches was close and then he hits the double in the corner and it was just a struggle, we just couldn’t get out of the inning.”

The left-hander’s return from injury provided Boston with some needed innings after he was activated July 9, and he delivered several quality outings along the way. But with the postseason approaching, his place on the October roster has become increasingly uncertain.

Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez, Payton Tolle and Jake Bennett are ahead of him in the rotation picture, while Brayan Bello has found success in a bulk role. Garrett Crochet and Tanner Houck are also attempting to return before the postseason.

Sandoval will have time to try and clean things up, but it’s looking as if the Red Sox are better suited with the lefty as a spectator when they inevitably travel to the Bronx. 

Boston’s offense quickly cut the deficit in half against Jacob deGrom.

Nick Sogard jumped on a pitch in the third and sent it down the right-field line for a two-run homer, pulling the Red Sox within 4-2.

Sogard didn’t hit his first major league homer until his 322nd plate appearance Aug. 19. He has now hit five in his last 99 plate appearances, all coming over a 24-game span.

The versatile infielder contributed in other ways, too. Sogard perfectly executed a sacrifice bunt in the fifth to move two runners into scoring position and later made an athletic play to complete a 1-4-3 double play.

But the Red Sox couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities against deGrom. The Texas right-hander held Boston to three hits and struck out eight over five innings while maintaining a fastball around 97 mph.