 clinched a winning record.Rodriguez (19-6) exited with a 12-7 lead. He struck out six while giving up a season-high 11 hits and walking three on a night when the Red Sox scored in all five innings he was in the game - and not again after that.''I would say the win was the team. ... I would say that's not my win,'' said Rodriguez, who has 205 strikeouts and is 3 2/3 innings short of 200 innings. ''I was part of the team in that game, but everything they do right there just to get a win for me was special.'' The 26-year-old left-hander will get a shot at 20 wins in Boston's season finale at home Sunday against Baltimore, which is 0-3 against him this year. Rodriguez had allowed only five runs over 45 innings (1.00 ERA) in seven games since mid-August.Rougned Odor hit a two-run homer, his 28th, in the Rangers fifth, and they had two more runners on base when Cora went out to visit the mound.''I wasn't going to let it get ugly. It was kind of ugly, but at the same time, he's still our best pitcher,'' Cora said. ''I told him, `Hey you deserve this. I'll give you one more but you better get him out. This is it.'' 'Two pitches later, the inning ended when catcher Christian Vazquez threw out DeShields trying to steal second.''I forgot the part Christian throws him out,'' Cora said smiling.''To see the ball going back to the second base, and then tagged him out. That was special too,'' Rodriguez said. ''I didn't get that out. (Vazquez) got that out.'' The Rangers (75-82), who opened their final homestand before moving into a new stadium next year, will have their third straight losing season after losing for the eighth time in nine games. But in manager Chris Woodward's first season, Texas already has eight more wins than last year.Brandon Workman, the fourth Boston reliever, worked the ninth for his 16th save in 22 chances. The first appearance at Texas for the Arlington-born reliever came in his 187th game and fifth big league season.Rodriguez had a 4-0 lead before his first pitch, but had thrown 38 pitches and the Rangers too had batted around to tie the game at 4 after a 49-minute first inning. The game lasted 3 hours, 59 minutes.''We did a good job, I thought, offensively,'' Woodward said. ''We hit (Rodriguez) pretty good.'' The Red Sox went back ahead when Mookie Betts led off the second with his 29th homer. But Delino DeShields opened the Texas second with a triple to right, on a play when Betts banged his left toe against the wall, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Elvis Andrus.Betts didn't go back to the field in the third, on a night when he was scheduled to be off anyway but told Cora he wanted to play with Rodriguez on the mound.An unearned run in the third put Boston ahead to stay at 6-5. Mitch Moreland had a leadoff double off Ariel Jurado (7-11) and scored on a two-out error by second baseman Odor.SHORT HOPSRodriguez is only the second Boston pitcher in the past 24 seasons to earn a victory while allowing seven runs in five innings. Tim Wakefield did at Detroit in August 2004. ... It was the first time both teams scored at least four runs in the first inning of a Rangers home game since April 21, 2006. Texas led Tampa Bay 5-4, and won 13-7.TRAINER'S ROOMRangers: OF Hunter Pence (lower back strain) said he was ''very frustrated' after a setback in rehab over the weekend that definitely ended his season. ''Unfortunately, this is not something I can just willpower through and overcome,'' said the 36-year-old Pence, who last played Aug. 22. ''The goal now is to get healthy to potentially play next year. And if not that, to have a healthy life and a quality of life.'' In his first season with his hometown team, Pence hit 18 homers and 59 RBIs in 83 games and was an All-Star for the fourth time.UP NEXTRight-hander Rick Porcello (13-12, 5.56 ERA), the last Red Sox pitcher to win 20 games when he was 22-4 as the AL Cy Young Award winner three years ago, makes what could be his final start for Boston. He is eligible for free agency this offseason after five years with the Red Sox. Rookie lefty Kolby Allard (4-1, 4.25 ERA) pitches for Texas.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Rangers open ballpark's last homestand vs. Red SoxFLMThe Texas Rangers kick off their final homestand at Globe Life Park when they welcome the Boston Red Sox for the start of a three-game series Tuesday night.The Rangers (75-81) will conclude their season with three games against the New York Yankees over the weekend before moving across the street to a new facility next year, Globe Life Field. The change marks the end of an era for Texas, which has played at its current ballpark since 1994.Rangers right-hander Edinson Volquez (0-1, 5.02 ERA) will kick off the series opposite Boston southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez (18-6, 3.53).The Red Sox come in having lost three of four on the road to the Tampa Bay Rays, including a 7-4 setback in Monday's finale. Despite the poor results, manager Alex Cora was impressed by his team's play during the series, which included two 11-inning defeats. Boston even had the tying run at the plate during the ninth inning Monday."I like the fact that we're going out there and competing," Cora said. "I do feel we're playing until the finish line, and that's what you want." Despite being eliminated from postseason contention, the Red Sox (81-75) are expecting to go all out Tuesday in support of Rodriguez's bid for his first 20-win season. The left-hander has a 1.00 ERA over his past seven starts as he also pursues 200 strikeouts (currently at 199) and 200 innings (currently at 191 1/3) for the first time in his career."If you win 20, you did a lot of good things," Cora said. "I think 200 innings is more important to him than anything else. I think it's a good number. If he gets a chance to do it, we'll push for it." Rodriguez was masterful his last time out, allowing only an unearned run on two hits and striking out 10 over six innings against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday. He is 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA in three career starts against the Rangers.Texas, which was off Monday, ended a seven-game skid when it beat the Oakland Athletics 8-3 in the finale of a five-game road trip Sunday. The Rangers slugged five homers in the contest, tying their season high, accomplished three other times."We needed that one," Texas manager Chris Woodward said. "Walking around the clubhouse and talking to guys, I didn't sense anybody with their heads down. They were just maybe frustrated because nobody likes losing, and they were like, 'What do we have to do to win a game?'"Texas is 42-33 at home this season. The Rangers and Red Sox split when they met during a four-game series in Boston back in June.Volquez is expected to open for the Rangers ahead of fellow righty Ariel Jurado, who has produced a 9.23 ERA across his past seven outings, including four starts. Jurado (7-10, 5.73 ERA) faced the Red Sox for the first time earlier this season, when he allowed three runs on five hits over six innings in a 9-5 win.--Field Level Media
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