 started the day needing nine strikeouts to reach 200, and he struck out six of his first 11 batters. He got another in the fifth but didn't get his eighth until Sam Travis ending the seventh on his 117th pitch, which matched his career high.When Minor walked the batter before Travis, manager Chris Woodward took a step out of the dugout toward the mound before getting waved back by the 31-year-old left-hander.Boston went 1-2-3 in the eighth on three pitches, two groundouts and a popout.So Minor came back out for the ninth. Sandy Leon flied out before Chris Owings popped up a 1-1 pitch. First baseman Ronald Guzman was coming in to make the catch but then heard Minor and catcher Jose Trevino shouting at him to let the ball drop to the ground. Owings took a called third strike on the 126th and final pitch by Minor, who finished with a career-high 208 1/3 innings.Jose Leclerc got the final out for his 14th save in 18 chances.Jackie Bradley Jr. and Owings hit solo homers in the Boston seventh to tie the game at 5-5.Santana's slam in the fifth put Texas up 5-3.ON THE ROADBoston finished 46-35 on the road but is just 37-41 at Fenway Park.TRAINER'S ROOMRed Sox: LF Andrew Benintendi fouled a pitch off his lower leg in the fourth and was replaced by a pinch hitter the following inning. ... RF Mookie Betts missed his second game in a row since coming out of Tuesday's series opener after he jammed his left toe against the wall while playing defense. Manager Alex Cora said the 2018 AL MVP will play at home this weekend. ... LHP David Price had a cyst removed from his left wrist. Cora said everything went fine and that Price should be ready for a normal spring training.UP NEXTRed Sox: LHP James Paxton (15-6) pitches for the Boston to open a season-ending three-game series at Fenway Park against Baltimore.Rangers: The AL East champion New York Yankees are in town Friday night for the opener of a three-game series that is the last for Texas before the team moves across the street into a new stadium next season.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Red Sox pursue sweep in TexasFLMThe Boston Red Sox will bid farewell to Globe Life Park in their final road contest of the season as they seek a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers on Thursday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.The Red Sox have scored 22 runs through the first two contests of the series, extending their winning streak at the closing ballpark to five.The Rangers will end their season against the New York Yankees over the weekend, then move across the street to a new facility next year, Globe Life Field.Right-hander Travis Lakins (0-1, 4.22 ERA) will lead Boston in a bullpen game in Thursday's finale. Southpaw Mike Minor (13-10, 3.52) will get the nod for Texas.Lakins has pitched once against the Rangers in his rookie season, tossing one scoreless inning in relief on June 13.After the contest, the Red Sox (83-75) will return home to end their season against the Baltimore Orioles. Though Boston won't play in the postseason, the team still has several individual achievements on the line.Rafael Devers, 22, is four hits from 200 for the season after going 2-for-5 Wednesday the Red Sox's 10-3 win. He hit his 32nd home run and later added his 52nd double, both marks single-season records for a Red Sox third baseman.Devers slumped for a spell early in September, though he's turned it on of late with three straight multi-hit games."It's amazing what he's doing," Boston manager Alex Cora said. "It's a joy to see him getting locked in again."Everything comes down to controlling the strike zone, and when he does that, he's one of the elite hitters in the big leagues." Devers' American League-leading 88 extra-base hits are the most by a Boston player younger than 23 in a season, surpassing Ted Williams' mark of 86 in 1939. Devers could sit Thursday against the left-handed Minor.On June 10, Minor cruised through eight innings against the Red Sox, giving up just two runs on four hits over eight innings, though he wound up with a no-decision. The 31-year-old has struggled this month though, going 2-2 with a 5.33 ERA in four starts.Minor has given up 13 runs between his last two outings, both against the Oakland Athletics. He is 1-3 with a 3.44 ERA in nine career games (five starts) against Boston.Texas (75-83) continues to see what it has in its younger players as it looks toward next season. Willie Calhoun has been among the bright spots this year, though the 24-year-old exited Wednesday with a left forearm bone contusion sustained on a hit by pitch.X-rays were negative."I think next year, with everything we have put in place this year, they should know the process, they should know my expectations," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said of the team's youthful core. "Now we've got to take the next step, put all these processes in place from Day 1. We have a year now into that process, so now we put that all into play right away. We hit the ground running." --Field Level Media
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