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The Boston Red Sox Sunday, May 2, 2021 * The Boston Globe Rangers outhit Red Sox to carve out a victory Julian McWilliams The Red Sox had their opportunities Saturday evening against the Rangers. The pulse of this contest seemed as if it was one that would work in the Red Sox’ favor. They had just one loss when collecting 10 or more hits in a contest. The Sox collected 12 in this one. The Red Sox hadn’t lost a game this year when the club scored four or more runs. They had six on Saturday. It’s rare that this team, one of the better offenses in baseball, loses by getting outhit. Yet Saturday marked one of those rare occasions. The Rangers offense outperformed the Sox’, tallying 13 hits on the night. More importantly, the Rangers scored when they needed to. The Red Sox did not, which led to a 8-6 loss in Arlington, Texas. If there’s an inning that determined the Sox’ fate, it was the fifth. The Red Sox were up, 5-3, in that inning behind back-to-back RBI singles by Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez. Yet the team missed out on an opportunity to score more against reliever Taylor Hearn, who took over for Jordan Lyles at the start of the fifth. Rafael Devers would entertain a walk that loaded the bases with no outs, offering the Sox a chance to deliver what likely could have been the knockout blow. Yet Hearn got Christian Vázquez to ground into a force at the plate. Bobby Dalbec and Hunter Renfroe then struck out to end the inning. The Red Sox were 4 for 13 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. “I mean, you got a chance to put a team away right there,” manager Alex Cora said afterward. “Bases loaded and no outs and we don’t score. We had a chance to put them away and we didn’t We had traffic all over the place today.” In the top of the second inning, Hunter Renfroe launched a two-run homer off Lyles. It gave the Sox a 2-0 lead in what ended up being another night defined by the team’s offense. Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez made it through his five innings, yet this one was a grind, coming with a rocky third inning where Rodriguez tossed 33 pitches and yielded three runs. The Rangers peppered Rodriguez with singles that inning, registering four of them in that frame. Nick Solak’s one-out RBI single plated the Rangers’ first run. Then following Rodriguez’s two-out walk to Adolis García that loaded the bases, Nate Lowe’s sharp liner to left scored two more for the Rangers, earning them a 3-2 lead. In the fourth, the Red Sox tied the contest at three apiece. Devers laced a double down the left field line and Vázquez’s single to right put runners at the corner. Dalbec’s slow tapper to shortstop enabled Vázquez to score. Rodriguez got through the fifth inning, but allowed a homer to Isiah Kiner-Falefa, which shrunk the Sox lead to 5-4. Rodriguez surrendered eight hits during his five innings of work. “I think his stuff wasn’t as sharp as before,” Cora said. “But you know, he gave us five. But I think today, it was a grind from the get-go.” Cora pulled Rodriguez after five innings at just 67 pitches, a decision Rodriguez said he could live with. “I feel like most of my pitches were on the plate today,” Rodriguez said. “I will say it was a good decision behind you know, take me out of the game after those four rounds. I mean, I can’t complain on that, you know. Matt Andriese took over in the sixth, and a two-run shot by Willie Calhoun put the Rangers ahead, 6-5. The Rangers would add one more behind Kiner-Falefa’s RBI triple. The Sox will now try to go for the series split Sunday. “We have to do a better job,” Cora said regarding his offense. “And it seems like we’re getting there. So, in those situations, the other team is not going to give in. We have to get on top of the fastball and go the other way.” Red Sox’ Christian Arroyo looking comfortable at second base Julian McWilliams Christian Arroyo continues to leave his imprint on this Red Sox team. Heading into spring training, Arroyo — who was out of options — found himself in a battle for a roster spot. He would ultimately seal that spot following his impressive spring that included a reliable glove up the middle and some pop at the plate. Arroyo tallied a .269 batting average to go along with three homers and nine RBIs in 55 plate appearances. The 2013 first-round pick by the Giants has struggled to secure a place in the majors, playing for three organizations before finding a home with the Red Sox. Arroyo’s journey with the Red Sox began last season after he was designated for assignment by the Indians. The Red Sox designated Arroyo for assignment, too, but he made it through waivers and was outrighted to the team’s alternate site. When former Sox second baseman José Peraza continued to struggle that provided an opportunity for Arroyo. Saturday night’s game in Texas marked Arroyo’s 17th start at second. He went 2 for 5 in the Red Sox’ 8-6 loss, raising his average to .302, with three homers and seven doubles. Arroyo’s focus last year was to hit the ball hard and not focus on results. That still hasn’t changed this year. “I think the mentality for me kind of always stayed the same,” Arroyo said before the Sox’ contest against the Rangers. “I think last year, just in general, I changed the way I thought about baseball in the sense of that process-oriented way [of going] about it instead of focusing on the results every single day. That’s when you get beat up and I think the mind-set has been the same coming into this season. I just try to come out and help us win in any way that we can. We have a really deep lineup, we’ve got great pitching, and we can win ball games.” Fun, of course, comes with winning. The Sox started Saturday sitting atop the American League East after finishing April with the most wins in baseball (17). “Really, this journey it’s been awesome,” Arroyo said. “I know there’s a lot more left for me. I’m excited for it. But at the same time, I’m just relishing in the now and in the present and not thinking about what’s going to happen in the future or what’s happened in the past.” Since the start of spring training, manager Alex Cora has been bullish regarding what Arroyo brings to the table, particularly with the flexibility he provides the club up the middle. Cora’s belief in Arroyo has certainly left an impact on the infielder. “He’s helped me out in more ways, from the mental side, obviously, from the physical standpoint, everything,” Arroyo said. “From a managing standpoint, he keeps it loose and he cares about you.” Santana ramping up Red Sox utilityman Danny Santana will begin his rehab stint in Greenville, S.C., next week. The Sox placed Santana on the injured list in mid-March after he was diagnosed with a right foot infection. Santana missed much of last year with a right elbow sprain, collecting just 55 at-bats with the Rangers. However in 2019, Santana had a breakout year, hitting .283/.324/.514 with 28 homers in 511 plate appearances. Santana will get reps in both the infield and outfield in Greenville, per Cora. He’s fully healthy but will need game reps for more than two weeks to give the Red Sox an idea of what he will need next. “It’s just a matter of the progression, so we don’t push him too hard,” Cora said. “He needs a lot of at-bats.” The Red Sox gave Kiké Hernández another day off Saturday. Hernández ran into the center field wall in the bottom of the seventh Thursday vs. the Rangers. Red Sox took advantage of a traditional spring training Peter Abraham ARLINGTON, Texas — In February, Major League Baseball proposed pushing the season back by a month because of what at the time were worrisome rates of COVID-19 in Arizona and Florida just as spring training was about to start. The Players Association rejected the idea, saying the sport had demonstrated the previous year that it could play through the pandemic. The players had it right. There have been a few games postponed because of testing protocols but the season has been close to normal, especially with fans back in the stands and increasing numbers of players and coaches being vaccinated. The decision to start the season on time worked out better than anybody could have expected for the Red Sox, who emerged from the first month of the season with the best record in the game, a half-game ahead of the Royals, Brewers, and Giants. The Sox opened May with an 8-6 loss against the Rangers on Saturday night and fell to 17-11. They failed to hold a 5-3 lead as Matt Andriese allowed three runs in the sixth inning. Sox manager Alex Cora supported the idea of moving back the season.