Results
Red Sox 7, Rangers 5
Monday, July 3, 2017
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E | |
| Bos | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 0 | |
| Tex | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
W: Hembree (1-2) L: Fieri (0-1)
The Texas Rangers opened the week with a hard fought, but disappointing loss to the Boston Red Sox. The Sox jumped out to an early lead in the second inning and stretched the lead to 5-2 after six. The Rangers fought back to tie the game with single runs in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. The comeback included solo home runs from Carlos Gomez (11) in the seventh inning and a game-tying solo shot in the ninth by Mike Napoli (17). Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel came into the contest with just one blown save in 24 previous chances. The Red Sox rallied for two in the eleventh inning on a bloop single by Andrew Benintendi off Rangers reliever Ernesto Fieri which put the Red Sox in front for good. The beleaguered Rangers bullpen tossed 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball before Fieri gave up the two 11th inning runs. Fieri, who was making his sixth appearance for Texas since being called up on June 17th, picked up his first loss of the season. Fieri was designated for assignment on Tuesday to make room for the return of reliever Jeremy Jeffress. Fieri cleared waivers and was assigned to AAA Round Rock.
Red Sox 11, Rangers 4
Tuesday, July 4, 2017
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Bos | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 19 | 0 | |
| Tex | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 2 |
W: Price (4-2) L: Darvish (6-7)
Yu Darvish got the start in game two of the series but was unable to slow down the red-hot Red Sox. Boston chased Darvish with one out in the fifth inning on route to their sixth straight win. Darvish completed 4.1 allowing seven earned runs on eleven Boston hits. It was the first time all season that Yu failed to make it out of the fifth inning, and the seven earned runs and eleven hits were career highs for Darvish. Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi went 5-5 with six runs driven in. The Rangers were led offensively by Adrian Beltre who had three hits on the night, and Mike Napoli clubbed his 18th homerun of the season. Napoli has now homered in four straight games. Delino Deshields capped the Ranger’s night offensively with a solo homerun in the ninth. David Price was brilliant for the Red Sox tonight, shutting the Rangers out while allowing just six hits and striking out nine over six solid innings.
Rangers 8, Red Sox 2
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Bos | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| Tex | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | x | 8 | 8 | 1 |
W: Cashner (4-7) L: Fister (0-2)
Andrew Cashner dealt seven solid frames helping the Rangers salvage the finale of the three-game set with the Boston Red Sox. Cashner allowed two runs (none of which were earned) on just three hits, improving to 4-7 on the season. Texas jumped out to an early lead on Rougned Odor’s 16th homerun of the season. Carlos Gomez would tack on a solo shot in the second, his 12th of the season, and Cashner had all the run support he would need. Gomez, Odor and recently recalled Jurickson Profar each collected two hits and drove in two runs in the win. Joey Gallo singled in the fourth inning, notable as it was Gallo’s first single since June 4th. His last ten hits had all been for extra bases. Gallo, however, was forced to leave this evening’s game in the fifth inning due to a sore hamstring. The injury appears to be minor and Gallo hopes to avoid a stint on the disabled list.
Rangers 10, Angels 0
Friday, July 7, 2017
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| LAA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Tex | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | x | 10 | 12 | 0 |
W: Hamels (4-0) L: Nolasco (4-10)
Cole Hamels took the hill for Game One of the three-game weekend set against the division rival Los Angeles Angels. Hamels, making his third start since returning from the disabled list, was in complete control throughout. The veteran lefty threw 7.2 shutout innings, allowing three hits and one walk, striking out six in a 95-pitch outing. Hamels improved to 4-0 on the season, and the Rangers are 2-1 in starts made by Hamels since his return from a strained right oblique muscle. Angels’ starter Ricky Nolasco entered the game on a 13-inning scoreless streak and promptly retired the first two Rangers he faced on eight pitches. Nomar Mazara would follow with a two-out walk, and Nolasco was never able to regain his rhythm after that. Texas would go on to score three with two outs in the first and would follow up with a five-run second inning (including Beltre being Beltre), chasing Nolasco with two outs in the second inning. It was only the fifth time in his career that Nolasco was unable to complete two innings. Beltre finished the game with two hits and three runs batted in. He was one of four Rangers with multiple RBIs in the game. Rougned Odor followed Beltre’s second inning homer with his 17th homerun of the season. The 432-foot blast was Odor’s longest of the season, and it marked the first time the Rangers have hit back-to-back home runs this season. Nomar Mazara homered in the sixth, his 12th of the season, to complete the Ranger’s night offensively.
Rangers 5, Angels 2
Saturday, July 8, 2017
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| LAA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | |
| Tex | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | x | 5 | 10 | 0 |
W: Ross(2-1) L: Chavez (5-10)
Tyson Ross held the Angels to one run on four hits, picking up his second win of the season. The bullpen allowed just one meaningless run in 3.1 innings preserving the win for Texas. The win moves the Rangers into sole possession of second place in the division with one game remaining before the All-Star break. For Ross, it was his first win since his first start as a Ranger on June 16th. Adrian Beltre gave the Rangers the lead for good in the third with his seventh round-tripper of the season, a two-run shot in the third. The homerun was the 452nd of Beltre’s career, tying him with the great Carl Yastremski for 38th place all-time. Drew Robinson would provide the insurance with a two-run homer of his own in the bottom of the sixth inning. Robinson made the start in LF one day after being recalled from Round Rock. The 25-year old rookie has now appeared in three games this season for Texas, going 3-8 with two home runs and three runs batted in. Saturday night’s contest was the fifth straight game in which the Rangers hit at least two home runs. Texas has out-homered their opponents 47-20 in their last 21 games.
Angels 3, Rangers 0
Sunday, July 9, 2017
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| LAA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |
| Tex | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
W: Ramirez (8-7) L: Darvish(6-8)
The Rangers entered the day looking for the sweep of the Angels to conclude what has been an inconsistent first half of the season. Fifteen pitches into the game, Albert Pujols took Yu Darvish deep to give the Angels an early 1-0 lead. Angels starter JC Ramirez combined with three relievers to make the lead stand, and the Rangers would have to settle for a 3-3 home stand heading into the All-Star break. Ramirez was effectively wild, issuing four free passes. But Texas managed only two hits on the afternoon and finished the day 0-4 with runners in scoring position. Darvish bounced back from his worst career outing last time out to complete 7.1 solid innings, allowing two runs on only three hits. Mid-season struggles continue for the Rangers lone All-Star representative, however. Darvish has lost his last three decisions and he is 1-6 with a 4.23 ERA in his last nine starts.
Player of the Week
Adrian Beltre played in all six games this week hitting .333 with two home runs and five runs batted in. Beltre finished the week with seven hits (including four extra base hits) in 21 official at bats. Beltre also drew a team-high four walks this week. The veteran 3B is currently supporting a career high walk rate of 12.2% while remaining one of the toughest strikeouts in baseball. Oh… and he did this. Beltre’s incredible, one-knee homerun against LAA on Friday gave him 5,000 bases for his career. Beltre became just the 21st major league to ever accomplish the feat.
Pitcher of the Week
Andrew Cashner made one start this week and he made it count. Cashner helped the Rangers take the third and final game against Boston, holding the Red Sox to just two unearned runs on three hits over seven innings. Honorable mentions go to Jeremy Jeffress, Jason Grilli, Matt Bush and Tony Barnette. The quartet combined for eight shutout innings this week out of the Rangers bullpen.
Looking Ahead
Ranger fans will get an opportunity to rest this week as MLB will pause for its annual All-Star break. Yu Darvish (6-7, 3.56 ERA) was selected as the Rangers lone representative. Darvish announced on Friday that was going to withdraw from the All-Star game in accordance with team wishes. The decision to skip what would be Darvish’s fourth All-Star appearance was made in a continued effort to keep the righty healthy and to maintain focus on winning games and chasing a Wild Card spot. Darvish will travel to Miami and participate in the All-Star festivities.
Texas will begin the second half and their push for a playoff spot with a three-game weekend series in Kansas City (44-43). The Royals, who currently sit 1/2 game back of the Twins for first place in the AL Central, ended their first half losing three straight in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. KC had won six of seven prior to this weekend’s series against the Dodgers. Texas swept a four-game weekend set against the Royals in late April. This week’s series will be the final three of seven games between the Rangers and Royals this season. Probable starters for the series have yet to be announced.
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