The Texas Rangers responded to an early four-run deficit with 15 unanswered runs on Wednesday, crushing the visiting Boston Red Sox 15-5 in Arlington, Texas.
Boston (75-78) received a three-run homer from Adam Duvall and a solo shot from Bobby Dalbec to take a 4-0 lead into the home half of the second inning. That's when the Rangers' offense came to life, however.
Jonah Heim headlined the six-run frame with a three-run blast of his own, with Mitch Garver clubbing a solo home run and Marcus Semien ripping a two-run single.
Texas (84-68) scored at least two runs in each of the next four frames to turn a modest two-run edge into a 15-4 advantage.
Josh Jung and Evan Carter also went deep during the rout as the Rangers moved into a tie with the Astros (84-68) atop the American League West. Houston was facing the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday afternoon.
Jung and Carter each finished with three hits, while Semien and Leody Taveras adding two apiece.
Despite the offensive showcase, Texas starter Jon Gray couldn't pick up a win after logging just 2 1/3 innings. He allowed four runs on four hits with one walk and one strikeout.
Martin Perez (10-4) took over for Gray and kept his former team at bay, limiting the Red Sox to just three hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
Boston starter Brayan Bello (12-10) was tagged for eight runs on eight hits in three innings to take the loss.
In losing for the 12th time in their last 15 games, the Red Sox left six men on base and grounded into two double plays. Duvall and Dalbec both finished with a pair of hits.
After the Rangers' ferocious second, Taveras had an RBI single and Semien walked with the bases loaded in the third to make it 8-4. Adolis Garcia chipped in with a run-scoring double as part of a two-run fourth, and Jung contributed a two-run shot in a three-run fifth.
The onslaught ended in the sixth with Carter's two-run homer.
Boston's Ceddanne Rafaela had an RBI single in the ninth to cap the scoring.
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