Boston Red Sox vs Texas Rangers major league baseball online broadcast mlb tv freedocast ESPN 360 Gamecast feed radio commentary April 03, 2011 Two games into the new season, the reigning AL champion Texas Rangers look every bit the part.
If the Boston Red Sox don't pitch better, they won't come anywhere near a championship in 2011.
The Rangers seek to complete a convincing season-opening sweep of the Red Sox on Sunday in Arlington.
Boston (0-2) may have grabbed headlines by adding sluggers Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford in the offseason, but the player the Red Sox let get away to Texas provided the biggest blow Saturday. Adrian Beltre, who batted .321 with 28 homers and 102 RBIs in his lone season with Boston before signing a five-year deal with the Rangers in January, hit a grand slam in the fourth inning to knock Red Sox starter John Lackey out of the game.
The Rangers (2-0) cruised from there to a 12-5 victory.
2:05 PM ET, April 3, 2011
Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Beltre made the Red Sox pay after they intentionally walked Josh Hamilton to load the bases.
Gameday Lineups
NO. Boston Texas
1. J. Ellsbury, CF I. Kinsler, DH
2. D. Pedroia, 2B M. Young, 2B
3. A. Gonzalez, 1B J. Hamilton, CF
4. K. Youkilis, 3B A. Beltre, 3B
5. D. Ortiz, DH N. Cruz, RF
6. J. Lowrie, SS D. Murphy, LF
7. C. Crawford, LF M. Napoli, C
8. J. Saltalamacchia, C M. Moreland, 1B
9. D. McDonald, RF A. Blanco, SS
WATCH Boston Red Sox vs Texas Rangers NOW
Two games into the new season, the reigning AL champion Texas Rangers look every bit the part.
If the Boston Red Sox don't pitch better, they won't come anywhere near a championship in 2011.
The Rangers seek to complete a convincing season-opening sweep of the Red Sox on Sunday in Arlington.
Boston (0-2) may have grabbed headlines by adding sluggers Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford in the offseason, but the player the Red Sox let get away to Texas provided the biggest blow Saturday. Adrian Beltre, who batted .321 with 28 homers and 102 RBIs in his lone season with Boston before signing a five-year deal with the Rangers in January, hit a grand slam in the fourth inning to knock Red Sox starter John Lackey out of the game.
The Rangers (2-0) cruised from there to a 12-5 victory.
Beltre made the Red Sox pay after they intentionally walked Josh Hamilton to load the bases.
"We are going to see that a lot," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "But we knew (Beltre) was going to be able to produce some runs. That's what he brings to our lineup. And many guys in our lineup can hurt you."
Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz and Yorvit Torrealba also homered for Texas. Kinsler and Cruz have both homered in each game, and Kinsler's long balls have both led off the first inning. He is the first major league player to lead off the first two games of a season with home runs.
Texas is opening the season with a stunning offensive display for the second time in three years. The Rangers have put up 21 runs and 25 hits -- including seven homers -- in their two wins over the Red Sox, putting them in striking distance of matching the 29 runs they plated in a three-game sweep of Cleveland from April 6-9, 2009.
For a Boston team that figures to contend as long as its pitching is adequate, this series has been alarming. The Red Sox have been forced to use 44-year-old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in mop-up duty in both games after their starters have allowed 14 runs over nine innings, including Lackey's nine-run, 3 2-3-inning implosion Saturday.
"I'm surprised when we give up that amount of runs. But there's a long way to go," Lackey said. "I expect to be good every time I pitch. So it's a shock, for sure. But it's one game."
After one native Texan starting pitcher failed to tame the Rangers on Saturday, the Red Sox will turn to another in Clay Buchholz for the series finale. After splitting time between the majors and minors in the previous three seasons, the 27-year-old right-hander came into his own in 2010, finishing 17-7 with a 2.33 ERA, making the All-Star team and placing sixth in AL Cy Young voting.
Buchholz is 1-2 with a 3.24 ERA in three career starts versus Texas.
He'll be opposed by Matt Harrison (3-2, 4.71), who begins the season in the Rangers' rotation after pitching out of the bullpen for 31 of his 37 appearances in 2010. The left-hander is 1-0 with an 8.25 ERA in two starts and two relief appearances against the Red Sox.
Boston hasn't suffered a three-game sweep to open a season since 1996, when it got outscored 25-7 at Texas.
If the Boston Red Sox don't pitch better, they won't come anywhere near a championship in 2011.
The Rangers seek to complete a convincing season-opening sweep of the Red Sox on Sunday in Arlington.
Boston (0-2) may have grabbed headlines by adding sluggers Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford in the offseason, but the player the Red Sox let get away to Texas provided the biggest blow Saturday. Adrian Beltre, who batted .321 with 28 homers and 102 RBIs in his lone season with Boston before signing a five-year deal with the Rangers in January, hit a grand slam in the fourth inning to knock Red Sox starter John Lackey out of the game.
The Rangers (2-0) cruised from there to a 12-5 victory.
2:05 PM ET, April 3, 2011
Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Beltre made the Red Sox pay after they intentionally walked Josh Hamilton to load the bases.
NO. Boston Texas
1. J. Ellsbury, CF I. Kinsler, DH
2. D. Pedroia, 2B M. Young, 2B
3. A. Gonzalez, 1B J. Hamilton, CF
4. K. Youkilis, 3B A. Beltre, 3B
5. D. Ortiz, DH N. Cruz, RF
6. J. Lowrie, SS D. Murphy, LF
7. C. Crawford, LF M. Napoli, C
8. J. Saltalamacchia, C M. Moreland, 1B
9. D. McDonald, RF A. Blanco, SS
WATCH Boston Red Sox vs Texas Rangers NOW
Two games into the new season, the reigning AL champion Texas Rangers look every bit the part.
If the Boston Red Sox don't pitch better, they won't come anywhere near a championship in 2011.
The Rangers seek to complete a convincing season-opening sweep of the Red Sox on Sunday in Arlington.
Boston (0-2) may have grabbed headlines by adding sluggers Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford in the offseason, but the player the Red Sox let get away to Texas provided the biggest blow Saturday. Adrian Beltre, who batted .321 with 28 homers and 102 RBIs in his lone season with Boston before signing a five-year deal with the Rangers in January, hit a grand slam in the fourth inning to knock Red Sox starter John Lackey out of the game.
The Rangers (2-0) cruised from there to a 12-5 victory.
Beltre made the Red Sox pay after they intentionally walked Josh Hamilton to load the bases.
"We are going to see that a lot," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "But we knew (Beltre) was going to be able to produce some runs. That's what he brings to our lineup. And many guys in our lineup can hurt you."
Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz and Yorvit Torrealba also homered for Texas. Kinsler and Cruz have both homered in each game, and Kinsler's long balls have both led off the first inning. He is the first major league player to lead off the first two games of a season with home runs.
Texas is opening the season with a stunning offensive display for the second time in three years. The Rangers have put up 21 runs and 25 hits -- including seven homers -- in their two wins over the Red Sox, putting them in striking distance of matching the 29 runs they plated in a three-game sweep of Cleveland from April 6-9, 2009.
For a Boston team that figures to contend as long as its pitching is adequate, this series has been alarming. The Red Sox have been forced to use 44-year-old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield in mop-up duty in both games after their starters have allowed 14 runs over nine innings, including Lackey's nine-run, 3 2-3-inning implosion Saturday.
"I'm surprised when we give up that amount of runs. But there's a long way to go," Lackey said. "I expect to be good every time I pitch. So it's a shock, for sure. But it's one game."
After one native Texan starting pitcher failed to tame the Rangers on Saturday, the Red Sox will turn to another in Clay Buchholz for the series finale. After splitting time between the majors and minors in the previous three seasons, the 27-year-old right-hander came into his own in 2010, finishing 17-7 with a 2.33 ERA, making the All-Star team and placing sixth in AL Cy Young voting.
Buchholz is 1-2 with a 3.24 ERA in three career starts versus Texas.
He'll be opposed by Matt Harrison (3-2, 4.71), who begins the season in the Rangers' rotation after pitching out of the bullpen for 31 of his 37 appearances in 2010. The left-hander is 1-0 with an 8.25 ERA in two starts and two relief appearances against the Red Sox.
Boston hasn't suffered a three-game sweep to open a season since 1996, when it got outscored 25-7 at Texas.
