BOSTON — The Red Sox failed to turn a routine 4-6-3 double play that would have ended the game, then the Rangers made them pay.
First baseman Romy Gonzalez took his foot off the bag too early when receiving the throw from shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela, allowing Nathaniel Lowe to reach and putting runners at the corners with two outs.
Wyatt Langford, the next batter, smashed a game-tying three-run homer off Josh Winckowski. It came on a cutter middle-in.
“It sucks when you locate almost every pitch in an inning and then kind of the one you mess up, it’s hit for a home run,” Winckowski said. “We were trying to be kind of away and it just ended up inside.”
Boston lost 9-7 to the Rangers in 10 innings here at Fenway Park on Wednesday.
Manager Alex Cora thought Rafaela’s throw was high, leading to Gonzalez’s foot coming off the bag. It was about a head-high throw.
“The throw was up,” Cora said. “I mean, hard to go from center field to shortstop in the middle of the inning. It’s not giving mulligans but it’s not that easy what he’s doing. Obviously he expects to turn that double play. But we didn’t do it. At the same time, it’s not that easy with all the moving parts, especially late in the game.”
Rafaela had moved from center field to shortstop during the ninth when second baseman Nick Sogard left the game after back-to-back singles by the Rangers to lead off the inning. Sogard had fouled a ball off his calf earlier and Cora said it tightened up on him while he was in the field.
“He felt he was getting tight. He wasn’t moving well so we decided to take him out of the game,” Cora said.
David Hamilton moved from shortstop to second base. Jarren Duran moved from left field to center field with Rafaela moving to shortstop. Rob Refsnyder entered the game in left field.
Josh Winckowski was put in for the save opportunity after Kenley Jansen was unavailable after he recorded four outs Tuesday.
Jonah Heim’s two-run homer off Zack Kelly in the 10th inning made it 9-7 Texas.
Kelly left a cutter over the middle of the plate.
“Trying to go in,” Kelly said. “It kind of ran into his barrel. Off the bat, I didn’t think he got it. I guess it carried out. But in that situation, trying to just pound the zone on the first pitch.”
The Red Sox finished their six-game homestand with a 2-4 record.
Abreu homers
The Rangers tied the game in the top of the sixth inning when Adolis García connected on Tanner Houck’s sweeper and crushed it for a 413-foot homer (108.6 mph off the bat) to left-center field.
But Wilyer Abreu put the Red Sox back on top in the bottom half with a blast that went nearly as far.
Abreu’s 410-foot line drive home run to right field gave the Red Sox a 3-2 lead.
Romy Gonzalez also knocked in a run with a sac fly in the sixth inning to make it 4-2 Boston.
García continues to struggle
Reliever Luis García, who the Red Sox acquired him from the Angels at the trade deadline for four prospects, allowed a leadoff homer in the eighth inning to Adolis García. It cut Boston’s lead to 4-3.
The righty then allowed two infield singles with one out. David Hamilton’s error on a chopper to him with two outs allowed the Rangers to tie it.
García allowed two runs (one earned) and three hits while recording just two outs.
He has allowed nine earned runs and 12 hits (three homers) in 6 ⅔ innings over six relief outings with Boston.
Red Sox take lead in eighth
Danny Jansen’s single to left field and a overthrow to home helped the Red Sox retake the lead in the eighth inning.
It should have been a close play at home plate when left fielder Wyatt Langford fielded Jansen’s 89 mph single. Third base coach Kyle Hudson aggressively sent pinch runner Connor Wong home from second base.
But Langford’s throw sailed way over catcher Jonah Heim’s head. Wong scored easily to make it 5-4 Boston.
Romy Gonzalez added some insurance with a two-run double down the left field line, making it 7-4.
The three-run rally came all with two outs.
Jarren Duran led off the eighth with a single to right field. But he got thrown out trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt that Abreu struck out on swinging.
Masataka Yoshida’s double started it. Wong pinch ran for him.
Houck throws 108 pitches
Houck pitched 6 ⅔ innings and allowed two runs, six hits and two walks while striking out three.
He threw 108 pitches, his second highest pitch count of the season. He threw 112 pitches against the Rays at home May 15.
Houck threw 39 sinkers, 35 splitters and 34 sweepers. He got seven swings and misses with the sweeper, four with his splitter and two with his sinker.
Thursday’s game
The Red Sox and Orioles will open a four-game series at Camden Yards on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. Boston righty Nick Pivetta (5-7, 4.44 ERA) will start opposite righty Zach Eflin (8-7, 3.83 ERA).
Eflin has won all three of his starts for Baltimore since being traded there from the Rays on July 26. He has allowed five runs in 19 ⅓ innings (2.33 ERA).
