It finally happened: Adrian Gonzalez picked up his 19th home run of the season.
It had been 22 long games without a home run for Gonzalez—part of an extended power outage since the All-Star break for a man who typically ranks amongst the best in the league at hitting the ball a long ways. Colby Lewis ended all that by falling behind 2-0, and then hanging a slider. Gonzalez knew exactly what to do with it, knocking a no-doubter into the stands in right.
The most surprising part of the inning, however, was the Rangers’ half of the inning. Facing off against a team that kills him and, specifically, two batters who routinely destroy him in Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton, John Lackey threw 13 pitches, got two groundouts, and a strikeout of Elvis Andrus.
It’s a good start for Boston, who were in sore need of one against this team that has had their number all year long.