The Red Sox got exactly what they needed in the fourth inning: a momentum-stopper.
After the Rangers had hit Lackey hard in the third, it was possible that the game was starting to turn in a direction Boston most certainly wouldn’t enjoy. And, with Jacoby Ellsbury and Marco Scutaro making some quick outs, it was up to Adrian Gonzalez to dodge the first 1-2-3 inning of the night for Texas.
He did so in pretty spectacular style, adding evidence to the theory that his homers come in bunches with his second bomb of the game, this one to the opposite field to give the Sox their four-run lead back.
Out came John Lackey in need of a quick inning, and while it didn’t start off too well—Mike Napoli’s fly ball took Reddick well onto the warning track and Mitch Moreland singled immediately thereafter—he picked up a pair of strikeouts on just seven total pitches to turn things around in a hurry.