Red Sox at Rangers
Mookie Betts returned from a brief absence and showed what a difference-maker he can be at the top of the Boston Red Sox's lineup, etching his name in the record books along the way. The Red Sox, who own the best record in the majors following Betts' three-homer eruption on Wednesday, begin a 10-game road trip with the first of four at the Texas Rangers on Thursday night.
Betts, out of the starting lineup the previous three days due to hamstring tightness, became the youngest player in history with four three-homer games while also eclipsing the franchise record held by the immortal Ted Williams. "Well, that was obviously a great performance," Boston manager Alex Cora said after Betts went 4-for-4 to raise his batting average to .365. "He's doing an outstanding job being ready to hit from the get-go and setting the tempo for the team." The Red Sox took two of three against one last-place club in Kansas City and face another in Texas, which was mauled at Cleveland 12-4 on Wednesday to finish 3-3 on a six-game road trip. The Rangers won the last meeting against Boston at home on July 5, ending a six-game winning streak in the series in which the Red Sox amassed 55 runs.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network, NESN (Boston), FS Southwest (Texas)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH David Price (2-3, 3.78 ERA) vs. Rangers LH Mike Minor (2-1, 4.33)
Price opened the season by tossing 14 scoreless innings in his first two starts, but he has been knocked around in losing each of his last two outings. He was reached for four runs on nine hits in a season-high 7 2/3 innings at Oakland on April 22 before Tampa Bay battered him for six runs over 5 2/3 innings last time out. Adrian Beltre (14-for-41) and Shin-Soo Choo have each homered twice off Price, who is 4-5 with a 5.11 ERA versus Texas.
Minor has been shaky on the road but solid at home, posting a 1-1 mark and allowing four runs in his three starts at Globe Life Park. The 30-year-old earned the win at Toronto last time out despite yielding four runs on nine hits over six innings, after pitching 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball in a no-decision in his previous turn versus Seattle. Minor has made six appearances (two starts) against the Red Sox, going 0-2 with a 3.63 ERA.
WALK-OFFS
1. Betts was only 5-for-26 in six games versus the Rangers last year but is batting .310 lifetime against them.
2. Rangers RF Nomar Mazara has homered in back-to-back games and has eight RBIs in his last seven contests.
3. Red Sox OF J.D. Martinez has multiple hits in five of the past seven games.