Rob Refsnyder’s walk-off single to right field capped a four-run ninth inning that lifted the Boston Red Sox to a 9-8 win over the visiting Texas Rangers on Thursday.
Five Boston batters had multiple hits, including Alex Verdugo, who went 3-for-4 with a home run and three runs. Christian Arroyo had a double and three RBIs as part of a 2-for-4 night, while Rafael Devers doubled twice and drove in three, breaking a 0-for-24 skid.
Refsnyder capped a 2-for-4 night with his first career walk-off RBI. Boston’s Xander Bogaerts also had two hits and scored three runs.
In the ninth against Arizona’s Jonathan Hernandez (1-1), two walks and a Bogaerts infield single loaded the bases with no outs. Devers delivered a two-run double to left that brought Boston within 8-7. After Arroyo was intentionally walked, Enrique Hernandez ripped a game-tying single to right.
Boston has won back-to-back games, while Texas is in a five-game losing streak.
Jeurys Familia (2-1) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn the win.
Marcus Semien went 3-for-5, Corey Seager, Nathaniel Lowe and Bubba Thompson all had two hits and Adolis Garcia homered for the Rangers. Jonathan Hernandez gave up four runs, four hits and three walks while recording just one out.
Texas starter Glenn Otto struck out a career-high eight batters while allowing three runs on four hits and one walk in five-plus innings.
Four consecutive Rangers reached and Texas got a third-inning run on Seager’s hit through a vacated left side of the infield.
In the fourth, Boston took a 2-1 lead on Arroyo’s two-run double to right.
The visitors scored three runs in the fifth, starting with a Semien walk and Seager’s run-scoring double to right. After Lowe singled to chase Red Sox starter Rich Hill, Garcia’s fielder’s-choice grounder lifted the Rangers to a 3-2 lead.
Three batters later, Mark Mathias extended the Texas lead with a two-out RBI single off John Schreiber.
Verdugo led off Boston’s half of the sixth with a solo homer to straightaway center.
Kole Calhoun’s pinch-hit sacrifice fly and Semien’s single scored runs gave Texas a 6-3 edge in the seventh.
In the eighth, Garcia crushed a two-run homer over the Green Monster. Boston got the two runs back in the bottom of the eighth on Devers’ one-out, run-scoring double to center and a Arroyo RBI single.
Hill wasn’t able to duplicate his sensational previous outing (seven scoreless innings against the Tampa Bay Rays) as he lasted just four-plus frames and gave up four runs on five hits and four walks. He fanned two.
–Field Level Media