Rob Refsnyder’s walk-off single to right field capped a four-run ninth inning that lifted the Boston Red Sox to a 9-8 win over the visiting Texas Rangers on Thursday.
Five Boston batters had multiple hits, including Alex Verdugo, who went 3-for-4 with a home run and three runs. Christian Arroyo had a double and three RBIs as part of a 2-for-4 night, while Rafael Devers doubled twice and drove in three, breaking a 0-for-24 skid.
Refsnyder capped a 2-for-4 night with his first career walk-off RBI. Boston’s Xander Bogaerts also had two hits and scored three runs.
In the ninth against Arizona’s Jonathan Hernandez (1-1), two walks and a Bogaerts infield single loaded the bases with no outs. Devers delivered a two-run double to left that brought Boston within 8-7. After Arroyo was intentionally walked, Enrique Hernandez ripped a game-tying single to right.
Boston has won back-to-back games, while Texas is in a five-game losing streak.
Jeurys Familia (2-1) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the win.
Marcus Semien went 3-for-5; Corey Seager, Nathaniel Lowe and Bubba Thompson all had two hits; and Adolis Garcia homered for the Rangers. Jonathan Hernandez gave up four runs, four hits and three walks while recording just one out.
Texas starter Glenn Otto struck out a career-high eight batters while allowing three runs on four hits and one walk in five-plus innings.
Four consecutive Rangers reached and Texas got a third-inning run on Seager’s hit through a vacated left side of the infield.
In the fourth, Boston took a 2-1 lead on Arroyo’s two-run double to right.
The visitors scored three runs in the fifth, starting with a Semien walk and Seager’s run-scoring double to right. After Lowe singled to chase Red Sox starter Rich Hill, Garcia’s fielder’s choice grounder lifted the Rangers to a 3-2 lead.
Three batters later, Mark Mathias extended the Texas lead with a two-out RBI single off John Schreiber.
Verdugo led off Boston’s half of the sixth with a solo homer to straightaway center.
Kole Calhoun’s pinch-hit sacrifice fly and Semien’s single gave Texas a 6-3 edge in the seventh.
In the eighth, Garcia crushed a two-run homer over the Green Monster. Boston got the two runs back in the bottom of the eighth on Devers’ one-out, run-scoring double to center and Arroyo’s RBI single.
Hill wasn’t able to duplicate his sensational previous outing (seven scoreless innings against the Tampa Bay Rays) as he lasted just four-plus frames and gave up four runs on five hits and four walks. He fanned two.
–Field Level Media
