Hamilton Gives Rangers Win Over Red Sox
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ARLINGTON, Texas — Josh Hamilton said it felt like old times during his first week back with the Texas Rangers.
Hamilton helped the Rangers relive some of those good memories Sunday, coming off the bench with two outs in the ninth inning and delivering a two-run double to lift Texas to a 4-3 win over the Boston Red Sox.
The double off Koji Uehara, which was the eighth walk-off hit of Hamilton’s career, helped lift the Rangers (26-25) over the .500 mark for the first time since June 6, 2014. Texas capped a 19-11 month.
“I was just fortunate enough to get him today,” said Hamilton, who started in each of his first six games with the Rangers after returning from a trade with the Los Angeles Angels and a stint on the disabled list. “(Pinch-hitting) is kind of like DHing. You try and find a routine that works for you, and a lot of times for me in the past, not taking a lot of swings in the cage, just getting loose and seeing and hitting. Not trying to do too much.”
Texas won despite losing third baseman Adrian Beltre for at least two weeks with a
sprained left thumb and having manager Jeff Banister ejected for arguing a call at second base in the top of the ninth.
The Rangers got the break they needed to open the ninth as Hanser Alberto reached on an error by Boston third baseman Pablo Sandoval. The Red Sox then decided to walk designated hitter Prince Fielder intentionally with two outs to bring up Hamilton, who has six of his walk-off hits with the Rangers.
Hamilton lined a 1-1 pitch to left-center, and Fielder scored the winning run from first.
The Red Sox (22-29) lost for the sixth time in seven games are in last place in the American League East.
“I should have got that ball,” Sandoval said. “I tried getting on top of that … (but got) a bad hop. You try to keep your head on. It’s difficult, but you have to keep your head on, you have to keep fighting through tough moments, and the good moments are coming.”
Boston had good moments early, scoring single runs in the first and second to take a 2-1 lead. The Rangers tied the game at 2 in the third, but Boston took a 3-2 lead in the sixth when shortstop Xander Bogaerts hit an RBI single to right field.
The Red Sox bullpen made the lead stand up for starter Joe Kelly until the ninth inning. Kelly, who hasn’t won since April 11, pitched five innings and allowed one earned run.
That didn’t deter a Texas club that finishes the season 5-2 against Boston.
“It’s a testament to their belief and who they think they are and who they know they are,” said Banister, who has been ejected twice this season. “They were really close (in April) a lot of times, and here we’ve lengthened out the lineup and some guys are swinging the bat very well. They believe the game’s never over until it’s over.”
Boston outhit the Rangers 11-8 with Bogaerts accounting for three of the hits. The Red Sox also got shutout work from three of its relievers before handing the ball to Uehara, who now has two blown saves thanks to the two unearned runs.
“I thought we had a number of good at-bats today,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “Granted, we left a high number of men on base (10). Where we had a chance to spread things open a bit, that wasn’t there. Still, we went into the ninth with two outs still with the lead.”
