Texas wins a wild, ejection-filled game in Boston
Jessica Camerato
@jessicacameratoBOSTON -- The Rangers won a wild showdown with the Red Sox, 9-5, that saw an inside-the-park home run and the ejection of the manager all in the top of the same inning at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.
Hunter Pence knocked an inside-the-park home run to right that evaded Brock Holt, bounced off the wall and back onto the field, actually lying on the warning track until Mookie Betts realized it was still in play and picked it up. It was Pence¡¯s 14th home run of the season and the Rangers¡¯ 29th inside-the-park homer in franchise history.
¡°Every game is extremely important right now, especially this stretch, playing this team,¡± Pence said. ¡°It¡¯s just some good teams in some tough games. We¡¯ve got to stay on it, continue to look to improve in all of the areas and continue to prepare the way we¡¯re preparing.¡±
Even though Pence¡¯s shot gave the Rangers a six-run lead, there was no easing up. In the following at-bat, Asdrúbal Cabrera smacked a line drive to left field. He attempted a double and was ruled thrown out by center fielder Sam Travis. Manager Chris Woodward ran to home plate to argue the call with crew chief Angel Hernandez and was thrown out for the first time in his career as a manager, coach or player.
Woodward was frustrated that he was not given an opportunity to challenge the call. Hernandez told pool reporters the 30-second window to challenge the call had expired.
¡°I just wanted consistency, that¡¯s all, from the umpires,¡± Woodward said. ¡°I know their job is hard. It¡¯s not black and white ever, they have a hard job to do. But most umpires give you the ultimatum when it comes down to the 30 seconds. I don¡¯t have a 30-second clock in my head.¡±
The Rangers efficiently scored nine runs off as many hits. They won with a balanced team effort -- six players contributed at least one RBI. After going winless at Fenway since 2016, the Rangers have captured the first two games of the four-game series.
¡°It¡¯s awesome to go out there, especially playing a team that won the World Series, it¡¯s always good,¡± Nomar Mazara said. ¡°For us to go out there and have the opportunity to play with them and just do good things against them, it means a lot.¡±
Starter Ariel Jurado gave the Rangers six strong innings for the fourth time in as many starts. He struck out six and gave up five hits and three earned runs. Jurado improved to 3-0 with a 3.70 ERA in his last four starts.
¡°It¡¯s kind of like [Mike] Minor yesterday. [Jurado] gets Game 2 in a big series and took the ball and did what he does,¡± Woodward said. ¡°I didn¡¯t think he was quite as good as he has been, but he found a way to go six innings and give up three runs against a really good offense. That just shows you the level that he¡¯s at right now where he doesn¡¯t have to be perfect. He can still find a way to get six innings in.¡±
With their 36th win of the season, the Rangers improved to 19-8 since May 15. They lead the league in victories during that span. The Rangers moved to six games above the .500 mark for the first time since they ended the 2016 season at 95-67.
¡°It¡¯s really cool to watch our guys talk about something before a game and execute it out on the field,¡± Woodward said.