The Rangers meant business in Sunday’s series finale against the Boston Red Sox. A combination of the fiery offense and Matt Harrison’s pitching brilliance led the team to 5-1 win.
Harrison threw seven innings, struck out eight, walked two and allowed just five hits. Through six innings, Harrison displayed the command that pitching coaches’ dream about with his slider, resulting in a multitude of swings and misses by Major League veterans such as Kevin Youklis, Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez. Three strikeouts, two looking and one swinging, brought Gonzalez’s hot start as a Red Sox to an end for the day.
The only hint of trouble came in the top of the seventh when the first two batters reached on a walk and a single. Carl Crawford, known for his speed, reached on a single, which scored Kevin Youklis easily for the Red Sox only run of the game. Both of Harrison’s free passes were part of the mini-rally against a pitcher with shutout-quality stuff.
Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz contributed to the home run smash party for the third day in a row. Cruz’s upper-deck blast to right field was a sight not often seen. Kinsler kept everyone waiting a bit, going deep in his second at-bat as opposed to leading off the game with the long ball as he did in the previous two contests. Napoli also hit his second and David Murphy connected on his first. Kinsler and Cruz are reportedly the first pair of teammates in Major League history to each homer in the first three games of the season.
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