ARLINGTON -- Despite getting an early two-run homer from Willson Contreras and taking advantage of a handful of Rangers miscues, the Red Sox couldn’t hold off Texas in a 7-3 loss on Wednesday at Globe Life Field.
The loss, however, didn’t change Boston's position in the postseason race, as the club remained in the second AL Wild Card spot and maintained its five-game cushion over the White Sox after Chicago lost to the Guardians earlier Wednesday.
Roman Anthony opened the game with a four-pitch walk. After Jahmai Jones flied out, Wilyer Abreu grounded into a forceout but beat the relay throw to first to avoid the double play and keep the inning alive for Contreras.
“Those are important details,” Contreras said in Spanish. “They don’t go unnoticed because they matter a lot in this game.”
With the postseason nearing, those -- along with having success with ABS challenges -- are the types of details Contreras was glad to see the Red Sox execute, especially with close games likely to become more common down the stretch. Boston had six successful challenges Wednesday night, and catcher Adley Rutschman improved to 19-for-27 on ABS challenges since joining the Red Sox.
Contreras entered the night batting .563 in his career against Rangers starter MacKenzie Gore, and helped set up his two-run homer with an early ABS challenge on a called strike that missed the bottom of the zone. After the call was overturned, Contreras took advantage when Gore left an 87 mph slider over the middle of the plate, sending it out to left-center field for his 27th homer of the season and an early 2-0 Red Sox lead.
“Honestly, I really liked that challenge, because I was sure it was a little bit under,” Contreras said. “And after that, I had the opportunity to get a pitch a little bit higher and connect for a home run.”
Contreras’ familiarity with Gore has also helped. The two faced each other frequently when Gore was with the Nationals and Contreras played for the Cubs and Cardinals.
“I know him well and I know that he always makes one or two errors in a game, so I am always trying to be ready for that error, like today,” Contreras said. “I wasn’t looking for that pitch, I was just looking for him to miss his spot in the middle.”
It was Contreras’ 27th homer of the season and his first since Aug. 21 against the Giants.
Texas eventually erased that advantage, pulling even at 2 in the fourth, but the Rangers helped Boston regain the lead an inning later.
Caleb Durbin drew Boston’s third walk of the night against Gore to begin the fifth. Trevor Story then sent a liner toward third baseman Josh Jung, who was unable to make a play. Durbin immediately recognized the opportunity, rounding second and advancing to third as Jung was slow to get the ball back into the infield.
The sequence ended Gore’s night and brought right-hander Jakob Junis out of the Rangers' bullpen. As Junis came set to face pinch-hitter Mickey Gasper, the ball slipped out of his glove for a balk, allowing Durbin to score and put the Red Sox back in front.
“We're going through it a little bit,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “We didn't create a ton of opportunities. Obviously, Willson with a big swing to give us the lead, and only a couple other chances. ... That's it. So really, [getting] three runs on the board with only three hits was good in that sense. But just not creating a ton of opportunities for ourselves today.”
The 3-2 lead was short-lived, as Texas answered in the bottom half of the fifth to tie the game again.
Boston’s starter, Jake Bennett, worked through a 26-pitch first inning, limiting Texas to one run despite allowing two doubles and a single, before giving up another run in the fourth.
The game turned in the seventh, when reliever Erik Miller allowed three runs on two hits. Texas added another run in the eighth off Raymond Burgos.
“As a team, I think we're doing the best we can to capitalize on every chance we have,” Contreras said. “We battle. We come here with the right mindset. We work hard. We work on details that we need to get better on.
“And sometimes it doesn't matter how hard you work. Sometimes the results are not gonna come. But you have to build off that. You have to take those types of games personal and get better for tomorrow.”