The Rangers handed the Red Sox the most thorough beatdown the team has endured this year Friday night, destroying Andrew Miller and Matt Albers while Derek Holland shut down Boston's offense for seven innings.
Andrew Miller completely threw away any good will he'd earned from his last two starts, walking the first two batters of the game and letting them both score before the first was over. Then came the second, and again two baserunners before an out. While the Rangers would opt for a sacrifice bunt, it proved entirely unnecessary, as Ian Kinsler took him entirely over the Monster and out of the park for a three-run shot. Miller would be allowed to load the bases before mercifully being pulled with just 1.1 innings pitched.
The Rangers would slow down against Michael Bowden, who provided a small bright spot with five strikeouts in 2.2 innings, but they started right back up against Matt Albers, clubbing two more homers to make the score an embarrassing 10-0 by night's end.
There's not really anything more to say about this one. The Red Sox were outclassed in every aspect of the game. Jacoby Ellsbury and Adrian Gonzalez provided the only two hits and baserunners Boston would see all night, and in the end we can only be happy that the runs they scored don't carry over to tomorrow.
Three For The Road
Second Place
With the Yankees winning against Toronto 3-2, the seesaw division battle has once again tipped in their favor. We'll see how long that lasts as the season draws to a close this month.
Experiment Over
This may have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Not only was it terrible, but it came after a pair of good starts, thus effectively "burning" both the team and the fanbase for putting confidence in Miller. It's hard to envision anyone expecting anything out of him again after tonight.
Sellout Streak Reaches 700
Sadly, it did so on a night when each and every fan should get a refund.
Red Sox MVP -- Not Applicable
Do you give it to Ellsbury who was quickly picked off first? Gonzalez was the only player who undeniably contributed tonight, but with such a terrible result, it's hard to credit anyone as being really "valuable".
Up Next -- Saturday, 4:10 p.m. | Erik Bedard (4-9, 3.45 ERA) vs. Colby Lewis (11-9, 4.19 ERA)
It would be terrific to see Bedard bring home his first win with the Sox on Saturday, and the way he's been pitching it wouldn't be too unrealistic to see that happen. But after tonight, the Sox would take 5 earned in four innings and crown him their savior on the mound.