ARLINGTON, Texas — David Ortiz homered and doubled, Shane Victorino drove in four runs with three hits and the Boston Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 8-3 on Saturday night.
A night after they managed only a single by Ortiz off Yu Darvish, the Red Sox broke loose. Ortiz hit his seventh home run and lined a double into the right-field corner.
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Jon Lester (4-4) gave up three runs and four hits in seven innings, a week after striking out a career-high 15 against Oakland. Lester struck out eight, matching Max Scherzer of Detroit at 66 for the American League lead.
Ortiz broke up Darvish’s no-hit bid Friday night with a clean single with two outs in the ninth inning. There also was his towering fly ball in the seventh that dropped untouched but was ruled an error after Darvish had retired the first 20 Red Sox hitters, a scoring decision Ortiz indicated Saturday he will appeal.
Ortiz pulled the first pitch of the third into the right-field seats. His double came an inning later, when he scored as a part of a four-run outburst for a 6-0 lead.
Martin Perez (4-3) lost his third consecutive start since the end of his 26-inning scoreless streak. He allowed six runs and 14 base runners (nine hits, four walks and a hit batter) in only 32/3 innings.
Perez has given up 19 runs over 131/3 innings the last three games and his ERA has tripled in that span – from 1.42 to 4.38.
The Rangers didn’t have a runner against Lester until Shin-Soo Choo led off the fourth with a double to deep center beyond the reach of center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. Choo came home on a sacrifice fly by Prince Fielder before Alex Rios added an RBI triple.
Boston went ahead to stay in the second after loading the bases with two outs. Victorino singled home a run but Bradley was thrown out at the plate trying to score a second run.
The homer by Ortiz was his 380th with the Red Sox, breaking a tie with Dwight Evans for fourth on the career list. Jim Rice is third at 382. It was his 19th homer at Texas, one short of Jason Giambi for the most by an opponent there.
Victorino and Jonny Gomes each had two-run singles in the fourth.
Texas shortstop Elvis Andrus, who significantly trimmed his beard that had been reminiscent of Abraham Lincoln’s, had two hits.
NOTES: Texas pitching coach Mike Maddux was ejected in the eighth inning by first-base umpire Vic Carapazza. That came during the same sequence when Manager Ron Washington questioned plate umpire Bill Miller when Will Middlebrooks was hit by a pitch on his hands. … Boston right-hander John Lackey, a Texas native, is scheduled in Sunday’s season series finale to make his 20th career road start against the Rangers. That will break his tie with Felix Hernandez of Seattle for the most by a Texas opponent. … Lackey’s 15 career losses (home and away) and 5.81 ERA against the Rangers are his worst against any AL opponent.
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