Projo Sox Blog

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

ARLINGTON, Texas _ It was like an old Western movie only this time it was the Rangers who pulled off all the larcenies.

Texas is a speedy club and it proved it again against the Red Sox and catcher Jason Varitek Saturday night at the Ballpark at Arlington. Through the first four innings the Rangers stole a total of six bases. Julio Borbon swiped three, Ian Kinsler took one and Elvis Andrus stole second and third.

The six stolen bases to that point matched a season-high, which was accomplished on July 22 against . . . Boston.

And Texas kept running.

Andrus added his third and Borbon swiped his fourth of the night in the bottom of the eighth inning to give Texas a team total of eight, setting a new club record. The previous mark was seven set on Sept. 29, 1979 at Seattle.

The eight thefts the Rangers produced on Saturday matched a league record this season, tying the Tampa Bay Rays who accomplished the feat on May 3 against. . . Boston.

So far this season opponents have taken advantage of Varitek, stealing a total of 92 bases while he's only thrown out nine.

The Rangers speed proved crucial as four of their stolen bases were direct results of four of their runs as Texas beat the Red Sox, 7-2, in front of 48,201. It was the third sellout of the season for the Rangers, including Opening Day and a game against the New York Yankees in May.

With Texas evening the three-game set against Boston at a game apiece, the Red Sox are back to a half-game lead in the wild card race over the Rangers with the series finale on Sunday afternoon.

Red Sox starter Brad Penny entered his 23rd start of the season with a 7-6 record and a 5.16 ERA. When he was removed from the game after 5 2/3 innings of work, the right-hander had allowed four runs on eight hits with four walks and six strikeouts. He tossed a season-high 121 pitches, 68 for strikes.

Meanwhile, Rangers starter Derek Holland kept the Sox at bay for most of the night as the left-hander worked 6 2/3 innings and allowed only two runs (both solo home runs to Jason Bay and Victor Martinez) on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches, 62 for strikes.

Texas took the early lead in the bottom of the second inning when Kinsler led off with a solo homer to right field. Later in the inning with two outs, Andrus produced a three-base hit when it appeared the Sox' right fielder Brian Anderson and center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury miscommunicated on the fly ball that should have been caught by Anderson, but he stopped as the ball fell in and bounced to the wall. Borbon provided the RBI single to give Texas a 2-0 advantage.

The Red Sox chipped away at the lead when Bay absolutely crushed a solo home run to lead off the top of the fourth inning. He deposited the first offering from Texas starter Derek Holland into the left-center field seats. The shot was Bay's 25th of the season.

Texas pushed across two more in the bottom of the fourth thanks to the speed of Andrus and Borbon.

Andrus led off the inning with a single, stole second on a failed pitch-out and swiped third uncontested. Borbon delivered a RBI single to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead. He then stole second, reached third on a ground out to second and scored on Marlon Byrd's sacrifice fly for a 4-1 advantage.

Bay wasn't alone in the home run category for the Sox Saturday night.

Martinez, the Sox' hero in Friday's come-from-behind victory over the Rangers with his two-out, two-run double in the top of the ninth inning, clubbed his 18th homer of the with two outs in the fifth inning on Saturday. His shot cut Boston's deficit to two runs.

The Rangers continued to use small ball to eat away at the Sox.

In the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and a runner on first, Texas executed a hit-and-run perfectly to put runners on the corners. That proved crucial as Red Sox reliever Ramon Ramirez helped the Rangers gain a much-needed insurance run when he balked on a pick-off attempt, forcing the runners to advance to give Texas a 5-2 lead.

The Rangers didn't stop running and reached eight in the bottom of the eighth inning. Again both resulted in a pair of runs as Texas took a 7-2 lead and held on for the victory.

The Rangers proved that speed kills.

 Tags  Jason Varitek Rangers Red Sox

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