BOSTON — The Red Sox went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, left 12 men on base and struck out 15 times through nine innings.
But they finally broke through in the 10th inning to walk off with a 5-4 victory over the Rangers at Fenway Park on Monday.
Enmanuel Valdez crushed an RBI ground-rule double to center field to tie it 4-4. Nick Sogard followed with a single to center field and Mickey Gasper (first MLB plate appearance) walked with one out to load the bases.
With two outs, Rob Refsnyder delivered a walkoff single off lefty Walter Pennington into the gap in left-center. It was his second career walkoff.
Bello returns from paternity leave
Brayan Bello spent the weekend at home in the Dominican Republic for the birth of his second child.
He returned from paternity leave Monday and allowed just one run in 6 innings against the Rangers. He left with a two-run lead
Bello threw 95 pitches and gave up four hits and three walks while striking out five.
Hamilton steals 30th base
David Hamilton stole second base in the fifth inning to become just the third Red Sox rookie ever to steal 30 or more bases. He joined Jacoby Ellsbury (50 in 2008) and Amby McConnell (31 in 1908).
BetMGM BET UP TO $1,500! BONUS BET REFUND AFTER A LOSS
STATES: AZ, CO, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, NJ, OH, PA, TN, VA. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21 years of age or older to wager. MA Only. New Customer Offer. All promotions are subject to qualification and eligibility requirements. Rewards issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets. Bonus bets expire 7 days from issuance. In Partnership with MGM Springfield. Play it smart from the start with GameSense. GameSenseMA.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org. US Promotional Offers not available in New York.
Red Sox take lead with five walks in 5th
Hamilton walked to lead off the fifth inning (and stole second). Rangers starter Tyler Mahle then struck out both Masataka Yoshida and Rob Refsnyder.
Texas manager Bruce Bochy replaced Mahle with reliever Andrew Chafin who walked the next four hitters and failed to record an out.
Chafin intentionally walked Rafael Devers and Connor Wong to load the bases, then walked Romy Gonzalez and Danny Jansen to force in two runs. The Red Sox took a 3-1 lead.
Red Sox bullpen blows lead in 7th
Zack Kelly walked No. 8 hitter Jonah Heim to lead off the seventh inning. The righty retired the next two batters (strikeout, groundout), then manager Alex Cora replaced him with southpaw Bailey Horn for the left-on-left matchup.
Left-handed hitter Corey Seager, who entered with a .647 OPS against left-handed pitchers, belted a first-pitch sweeper from Horn 384 feet into the right field bleachers to tie the game 3-3.
Tuesday’s game
The Red Sox and Rangers will play the second game of their three-game series at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday. Red Sox righty Kutter Crawford (7-9, 4.11 ERA) will start opposite righty José Ureña (3-7, 3.74 ERA).
