Oh, To Be Jung Again! Texas Rangers Rookies Lead Blow Out of Red Sox

The Texas Rangers rout the Boston Red Sox behind rookies Josh Jung and Evan Carter to keep pace in the American League playoff race.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Texas Rangers scored 15 unanswered runs to beat the Boston Red Sox 15-5 Wednesday afternoon.

The win moved Texas (84-68) back into first place, momentarily, with the Houston Astros, who are playing the Orioles on Wednesday. Houston (85-68) won a few minutes later to move a half-game up on Texas.

The Seattle Mariners also won Wednesday, to stay tied with the Rangers, a half-game back of the Astros.

The Red Sox (75-78) led 4-0 after Adam Duvall's three-run home run in the first and Bobby Dalbec's solo homer in the second against starter Jon Gray.

The Rangers, however, stormed back with six runs in the bottom of the second, including Jonah Heim's three-run homer. Mitch Garver followed with a solo homer, and Marcus Semien's two-run single gave Texas a 6-4 lead.

Texas continued to stack runs in the ensuing innings, with two in the third, two in the fourth, three in the fifth, and two more in the sixth. Josh Jung had a two-run homer in the fifth and Evan Carter had a two-run homer in the sixth.

Jung was 3-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored, while Evan Carter was a triple shy of the cycle with two RBI and two runs scored.

We could get used to seeing this. #StraightUpTX pic.twitter.com/zzgKDOzsC7

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) September 20, 2023

Rangers 15, Red Sox 5

Here are the key moments from Wednesdy's Rangers game:

Runs Rangers Runs

The Rangers set franchise records for both games with 10 or more runs (26) and 15 or more runs (6) in a single season. The club's previous marks were 25 games with 10 or more runs in 2008 and five games with 15 or more runs in 1998. The Rangers' AL-leading 841 runs in 2023 rank 11th in franchise history, and the most since 2011 (855).

Martin Perez Comes Up Big

Left-hander Martin Perez pitched 4 2/3 of scoreless relief behind Jon Gray to earn the win Wednesday. Perez hasn't allowed a run in his past five appearances, a span of 11 innings.

Gray's Day

Starting pitcher Jon Gray continues to struggle to give the Rangers any kind of length. He was done after 2 1/3 on Wednesday after allowing four runs on four hits, including two homers. Gray has failed to go more than 3 2/3 in each of his past three starts.

Up Next

The Rangers are off Thursday before starting a massive three-game series against the Seattle Mariners at 7:05 p.m. Friday at Globe Life Field. The Rangers play the Mariners seven times to end the regular season, including the final four games at Seattle.

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