Texas Three-Step
Red Sox sizzle during sweep of Rangers
April 29-May 2, 2004
The Texas Rangers won't mind that Boston isn't coming back to the Ballpark at Arlington this season. The struggling team bid good ridance to the Red Sox after getting swept in a three-game set. Boston is in the midst of a five-game winning streak right now, while the Rangers may need to completely overhaul its pitching staff, which was shelled on two of the three nights...
Here are the details:
Game 1: Boston 5, Texas 2
Highlights: The Beantown bullpen proved nearly perfect in preserving Pedro Martinez's fifth victory of the season (5-0). Mike Timlin gave up a harmless hit, and that was it. Alan Embree, Brendan Donnelly and Keith Foulke didn't allow a single runner to reach the last 2 innings.
Offensively, Kevin Millar, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz all parked balls outside the Arlington stadium's walls. The three players have hit a combined 17 HRs so far (6 each for Millar and Ortiz and 5 for Ramirez)...
Game 2: Boston 9, Texas 4
Highlights: The Sox started early, getting four runs in the first inning off Chan Ho Park. They finished with 14 hits in all for the game. Ellis Burks, who has been seeing more starting time of late with the injury to Johnny Damon, went yard twice (second time this season he's done that!!)
The three lead-off men -- Kevin Millar, Bill Mueller and Manny Ramirez -- each had two hits. So did Pokey Reese, Trot Nixon and Doug Mirabelli.
Winning pitcher: Tim Wakefield. He didn't have his best stuff, but still improved to 3-0. Not bad for a number five starter with an ERA near 6.00. You know you've got a good offensive team behind you when...
Game 3: Boston 10, Texas 0
Highlights: Definitely the gem of the bunch. The first six Boston hitters of the game got hits, and five scored before the end of the first inning. Texas starter Kenny Rogers got chased after getting just one out in the first. The Rangers poor closer came in around the fifth inning and threw close to 100 pitches...
The Sox pounded out 17 hits and seven different players had RBIs. No homers in this one, but Boston didn't need any...
Curt Schilling picked up the win. He wanted to go the distance and get a complete game shutout, but Terry Francona pulled him after 100 pitches in the bottom of the eighth. "No need to kill him right now," the manager said.
"I know Curt wasn't happy to see me visit him, but when we can save him 10 or 20 pitches in a blowout like this at this time of year, we need to do that..."
The ending should give confidence to the bullpen. Scott Williamson worked himself (FINALLY!!) out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth. His ERA is finally back under 10.00...
Next up: a trip to Jacobs Field in Cleveland...
Also, we'll run down what happened in April, both in Boston and around the Majors...