Red Sox remain in AL East cellar
The Red Sox are running out of chances. With Josh Beckett on the mound Wednesday night, the Sox lost a 2-0 lead on the Texas Rangers thanks to a three-run fourth inning from the Texas lineup – and the Red Sox never could regain a lead. A run scored on a wild pitch in the seventh added to Boston’s woes, as they ultimately took a 5-3 loss to the Rangers.
Beckett allowed four runs on nine hits over seven innings, but despite the decent outing for Beckett, it’s his one wild pitch that resulted in the winning run for the Rangers. The loss moved Beckett to 5-9 on the season, with one victory in his last nine starts.
Two of the Red Sox runs both came off solo homers, one from Dustin Pedroia and one from Will Middlebrooks.
Two batters were hit with pitches during the game following reliever Vicente Padilla hitting Adrian Beltre in the head with a pitch on Tuesday. First, Derek Holland hit Adrian Gonzalez in the hip. Then, Beckett hit Elvis Andrus in the elbow, which apparently didn’t affect the Ranger’s ability to run, as he would go on the score the go-ahead, and ultimately game winning, run for Texas.
Downers:
– With the loss, the Red Sox are again under .500, with a .495 average and 49-50 record. They walked away with just one victory in their last five outings, and are in quite a hole with the close of July quickly approaching.
– The wild pitch from Beckett tarnished what would have been an otherwise decent outing. He left the clubhouse before speaking to media following the game, leaving his teammates to speak on his error. Beckett was then seen posing for photos with family and friends in the concourse.
Bright spots:
– Will Middlebrooks, a native of Texarkana, TX, got a chance to homer in front of the many family and friends that came to see him play about 2 1/2 hours from his hometown.
Looking ahead:
The Red Sox are headed to New York for the first time this season, with their best chance at making up some ground in the AL East standings looming. The Sox are 10 1/2 games behind their first place rivals, who have gone 2-3 in their last five games. With one day off, Aaron Cook (2-3) will take to the mound for the Sox Friday, facing Phil Hughes (9-8). Notably, this will be the first taste of the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry for both Ichiro Suzuki and Middlebrooks. Suzuki was acquired by the Yankees Monday from Seattle, and Middlebrooks missed the last series due to a hamstring strain.
