BOSTON — Hunter Pence sprinted through his 14th homer of the season, although there was probably no need to hurry.
Texas Rangers’ Hunter Pence, right, crosses home plate in front of Boston Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez, left, while scoring on his inside the park home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston, Tuesday, June 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Pence hit a stand-up, inside-the-park home run and the Texas Rangers beat Boston 9-5 Tuesday night, capitalizing when the Red Sox unraveled after their manager and right fielder were ejected.
Texas has won four of five, including Monday night’s extra-innings victory at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox lost their third straight loss and fifth in six games.
“Guys are frustrated. We try not to be, but games like tonight, it’s embarrassing,” said Brock Holt, who misplayed Pence’s homer. “We’re not playing well. We’re not playing up to our capabilities and that’s the frustrating part.”
Ariel Jurado (4-2) struck out six while pitching six innings of three-run ball, and Pence, Asdrubal Cabrera and Ronald Guzman each had two RBIs for the Rangers.
Xander Bogaerts and Mookie Betts homered for the Red Sox, who dropped to 34-34 on a night filled with frustrations. Andrew Benintendi was ejected in the fifth, and manager Alex Cora was also tossed defending his outfielder.
Holt moved from left field to right in the sixth and couldn’t track down Pence’s fly at the short right field wall. Holt fell onto the top of the wall and remained draped there while the ball rolled slowly toward right-center. Betts, who moved from right to center, couldn’t get to the ball before Pence finished his dash around the bases. That put Texas up 9-3.
Cabrera followed Pence with a line drive to left and tried to stretch it to a double, sliding in and initially being called safe before second base umpire Jordan Baker quickly reversed his own call. That brought Texas manager Chris Woodward storming out of the dugout. He went straight for plate umpire Angel Hernandez and shouted in his face until he got tossed — the first ejection of his managing career.
Woodward said he was upset because he was considering challenging the call and wasn’t told when he had run out of time.
Darwinzon Hernandez (0-1) made his first major league start and struck out seven, but he struggled with his control and allowed four runs — three earned — on three hits and five walks. He faced two batters in the fourth, when Texas pulled ahead 4-3.
GET WELL, PAPI — Fans cheered between the second and third innings when the Red Sox showed a video from 13 years before, when David Ortiz hit a three-run walk-off homer on June 11, 2006 for the Red Sox in a 5-4 win over Texas.
Ortiz was a few miles away at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he is recovering in intensive care after being flown to Boston for a second surgery following a shooting in the Dominican Republic on Sunday night.
TRAINER’S ROOM — Red Sox: Placed RHP Ryan Brasier on the bereavement/family medical emergency list. Hernandez was recalled from Double-A Portland.
UP NEXT — Rangers RHP Lance Lynn (7-4, 4.39 ERA) faces RHP Rick Porcello (4-6, 4.86) in the third game of the series, which was moved up to a 4 p.m. start because of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Blues and the Bruins.
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