Alex Bregman, Wilyer Abreu power Red Sox past Rangers
Published in Baseball
BOSTON — Prior to the game, Alex Bregman told the Boston Herald that he didn’t like the way his swing felt, and after he was finished talking he needed to go get some more work in.
Clearly whatever adjustments he made paid off.
Bregman had a huge day at the plate in Wednesday’s bounce back win, going 3 for 4 with a home run, three RBI and the go-ahead two-run single to help the Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers, 6-4.
The home run, a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth, was his ninth of the season and the 200th of Bregman’s career. Wilyer Abreu also hit a pair of home runs, the latter of which gave Boston some extra breathing room late.
For much of the night it looked as if the baseball gods weren’t on Boston’s side.
The Red Sox caught numerous bad breaks throughout Wednesday’s game. The first and arguably most consequential came in the top of the third when Wyatt Langford was twice ruled safe on a close play at first that probably should have resulted in an out. Langford was initially called safe because first baseman Romy Gonzalez dropped pitcher Tanner Houck’s throw, but replay showed that the Rangers outfielder overran the bag as he tried to avoid colliding with Gonzalez in the base path, and by the time he’d scampered back to the bag, Gonzalez had picked up the ball and tagged the base.
Despite that being evident on replay, the umpires still ruled Langford safe again after going to review. Boston lost its challenge as a result, which proved costly later on.
In the meantime, the play resulted in the bases being loaded with one out, and on the next at bat Corey Seager scorched a 112 mph line drive to second, which Kristian Campbell was able to knock down but couldn’t field cleanly for the inning-ending double play. He settled for the out at first, allowing the Rangers to take a 1-0 lead.
Houck escaped the jam without further incident.
Boston caught another bad break the next time the Rangers came to the plate. Adolis Garcia led off the inning with a high fly-ball down the left field line, and the ball just barely curled in and dinged off the left side of the foul pole, bouncing into the adjacent upper deck stands but still going for a solo home run to make it 2-0.
The Red Sox finally got their bats going in the bottom of the fourth when Bregman and Abreu each hit solo shots. Bregman’s bounced off the Plymouth Rock sign above Fenway Park while Abreu cleared the Red Sox bullpen in right-center field.
Texas retook the lead in the fifth after Corey Seager led off with a single that clipped Houck in the arm, and while the right-hander was ok and shook off the trainer, he subsequently allowed a ground rule double by Joc Pederson and then a sacrifice fly by Garcia that made it 3-2.
Houck was pulled after that and was ultimately charged with three runs (two earned) over 4 2/3 innings. He allowed six hits, two walks and a hit batsman while striking out two.
Bregman came up big again his next time up in the sixth with a leadoff double, and after Campbell singled to put runners at the corners, Abreu tied the game with an RBI double. Campbell also attempted to score on the play, but he was thrown out in a close play at home.
The rookie appeared to be safe, but because Boston had already lost its challenge, the club was unable to make an appeal, costing it a chance to retake the lead.
Then, a few batters later, it looked for a moment like disaster had struck.
With two outs in the inning and Abreu now at third, Gonzalez hit an infield grounder and hustled down the line to try and beat out a close play at first. But upon reaching the bag he stepped on first baseman Josh Smith’s heel, causing both players to fall to the ground in a heap.
Given that the Red Sox are already trying to get by without Triston Casas, losing Gonzalez too would be a catastrophe. Gonzalez was able to get to his feet and appeared set to stay in the game, but while he and Smith were gathering themselves the umpires were also reviewing the play, ultimately ruling Gonzalez out and wiping Abreu’s go-ahead run off the board.
Gonzalez was then subbed out for Abraham Toro in the top of the seventh. It’s not clear as of publication whether the change was injury-related or if Cora had planned to use Toro as a defensive replacement.
After seeing two opportunities to take the lead fall by the wayside, Bregman finally broke through with his two-run single in the bottom of the seventh. Connor Wong and Ceddanne Rafaela set the table with a pair of singles to lead off the inning, and after Jarren Duran and Rafael Devers recorded outs, Bregman lined one into left field to bring both runners home.
Abreu gave the Red Sox some extra cushion in the bottom of the eighth with his second home run, also a solo shot to give him nine on the season, and Aroldis Chapman closed out the game in the ninth for his fifth save of the season. Rangers third baseman Josh Jung hit Chapman’s first pitch over the Monster for a solo shot, but the veteran left-hander took care of business from there, twice topping 103 mph on his final at bat, including a 103.8 mph fastball that broke his own record for the fastest pitch by a Red Sox player in the Statcast era.
____
©2025 The Boston Herald. Visit at bostonherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Comments