Rafaela, Contreras Lead Red Sox Past Rangers 10-1

Rafaela and Contreras Power Offense

Rafaela and Contreras drove in five runs combined as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Texas Rangers 10-1 at Fenway Park on Friday. The Red Sox (28-39) improved their record with a dominant offensive showing, while the Rangers (34-35) fell to 34-35. The game drew 33,919 fans to the Boston venue.

Early Scoring and Pitching

Texas took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Langford singled to left, allowing Pederson to score while Jung advanced to second. Boston responded immediately in the same frame. Abreu hit a sacrifice fly to left to tie the game at 1-1. Contreras then homered to center field, a 379-foot shot, to give Boston a 2-1 advantage.

Sonny Gray earned the win for Boston, pitching 6.0 innings. He allowed 5 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 7 batters without issuing a walk. His line improved his record to 8-1. Texas starter Jack Leiter took the loss, falling to 3-6. Leiter pitched 5.0 innings, giving up 8 hits and 5 earned runs while striking out 3. Cal Quantrill pitched 2.0 innings for the Rangers, allowing 1 hit and 1 earned run. Luis Curvelo contributed 1.0 inning for Texas, giving up 3 hits and 3 earned runs.

Fifth Inning Surge

Boston broke the game open in the fifth inning. Rafaela doubled to left, and Gasper scored to make it 3-1. Abreu doubled to left, allowing Rafaela to score for a 4-1 lead. Contreras reached on an infield single to third, and Abreu scored on a throwing error by third baseman Jung, extending the lead to 5-1. Contreras advanced to second. Durbin hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Contreras, making it 6-1.

Tyron Guerrero pitched 1.0 scoreless inning for Boston, striking out 0 batters. Danny Coulombe also pitched 1.0 scoreless inning, allowing 1 hit and striking out 0. Tommy Kahnle closed the game with 1.0 inning, allowing 0 hits and striking out 1.

Closing the Gap

The Rangers added their only run in the seventh inning when Abreu homered to center field, a 421-foot shot. Boston added four more runs in the eighth inning. Rafaela homered to left center, a 374-foot shot that scored Wong, making it 9-1. Contreras doubled to center, and Abreu scored to finalize the 10-1 result. The Red Sox offense recorded multiple extra-base hits and capitalizing on a defensive error to secure the victory.

Sources

https://www.espn.com/mlb/game/_/gameId/401815726