Grimm Struggles As Red Sox Trounce Rangers 17-5
BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Red Sox hit for the cycle in one inning and better than they have in a game this season. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit his first career home run and finished with three RBIs, and the Red Sox set season highs for hits and runs in a 17-5 rout of the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night.
"It's just baseball. It happens. Over 162 games, you're going to have opportunities to score a lot of runs and tonight we didn't stop," said Mike Carp, one of four players to homer for Boston. "We kept it going all night."
Stephen Drew and Jarrod Saltalamacchia also homered for the Red Sox, who scored at least one run in every inning through the first seven and hit for the cycle as a team in the second. The Red Sox finished with 19 hits, eight of them doubles.
It was an abundance of run support for Ryan Dempster (3-6), who ended a streak of five winless starts with his first victory in a month.
"I like my chances when we get 17 runs," Dempster said with a slight grin. "It was just fun to watch the guys swing the bat as well as they did today. When you have breathing room like that, it is nice because you kind of fill up the zone a little bit more and try and get some quick outs."
David Ortiz had three RBIs, driving in one run with a double in the first and then a pair while legging out a rare triple during Boston's six-run second. Ortiz also tagged up and scored on a sacrifice to shallow right.
"He's playing with a lot of life. He's playing with a lot of enthusiasm and I think that is the overriding attitude that is in that group downstairs," manager John Farrell said.
Carp also drove in three runs as the Red Sox ended a five-game losing streak against the Rangers.
Five of Boston's six hits in the second were for extra bases and the Red Sox chased Justin Grimm (5-4) after 60 pitches.
The Texas rookie allowed eight runs, all earned, in 1 2-3 innings in a forgettable Fenway Park debut.
Texas used six pitchers and none could stop the Red Sox until outfielder David Murphy made his first career pitching appearance.
Murphy came in from left field in the eighth and kept Boston from scoring after Daniel Nava hit a leadoff double.
"There was too many pitches in the middle of the plate and the Red Sox didn't miss," manager Ron Washington said. "They came out tonight swinging the bats and they didn't stop it until we put Murphy out there."
Jeff Baker hit a two-run homer for Texas in the fourth and Nelson Cruz hit a solo shot out to straightaway center in the fifth -- Dempster's only mistakes against his former team. He allowed three runs on five hits over seven innings, striking out six with one walk.
The Red Sox had just set a season high with 18 hits Saturday in an 11-1 win at New York and topped that when Nava doubled in the eighth Tuesday.
Boston's bats were alive early again Tuesday. Jose Iglesias led off the second with a double and scored on Bradley's homer to right. Although he cleared the Texas bullpen by several rows, Bradley ran the bases the entire way and nearly caught Iglesias at home. Ortiz tripled to center with two men on and by the time Iglesias struck out in his second at-bat of the inning, Boston led 8-0.
"I had no fastball command at all. I was working behind hitters and leaving it up when it came across the plate," Grimm said. "A tough lineup like that, you can't work from behind."
Carp added a solo homer in the fifth, just out of Cruz's reach as he tumbled over the right-field wall into the bullpen trying to make the catch. Cruz hit one over a much higher wall with his homer to center in the top of the sixth.
(© Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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