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GAME LOG
BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Red Sox had plenty of offense but little to show for it. Then Mike Lansing entered the game in the eighth inning.
His pinch double drove in two runs, then he
won the game and sent the fans into a frenzy with another two-run
double in the ninth as the Red Sox beat the Texas Rangers 8-7
Thursday night.
"I love that situation," said Lansing, who had all singles in his 15 hits with Boston before Thursday. "I mean, that's what you play for, to come in the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, and have a chance to win the game."
The Red Sox had plenty of chances earlier but stranded runners
in scoring position in each of the first seven innings and left 13
men on through eight. Then manager Jimy Williams went to his bench,
and for the second straight night, it gave Boston a win.
For the third time in four games, the Red Sox won in their last
at-bat. Rico Brogna's grand slam in the ninth gave them a 7-3 win Monday night over Tampa Bay, and a three-run eighth beat the Devil Rays 4-3 Wednesday night.
"As long as you keep playing hard and maintain your mental
stability and your work ethic and believe in yourself and your
teammates, you can win games," Williams said.
On Wednesday, pinch singles by Scott Hatteberg and Bernard
Gilkey began the winning rally. On Thursday, the Rangers led 3-1 on
a two-run homer by Frank Catalanotto in the third and a solo shot
by Bill Haselman in the fourth. They led 6-2 in the eighth before Jose Offerman led off the bottom of the inning with a walk.
Gilkey hit for Trot Nixon and singled, Brogna pinch ran and Carl
Everett struck out. Lansing, obtained from Colorado on July 27, hit
for Brian Daubach and doubled. He scored as Troy O'Leary's infield
single to first was thrown wildly for an error by Rafael Palmeiro.
"The more chances you give Boston to win," Texas second
baseman Luis Alicea said, "the more they will beat you. They are known for their comebacks."
They completed their latest one in the ninth against John
Wetteland (4-5) after Rich Garces (8-0) had given up a run-scoring
double to Rusty Greer in the top of the inning.
Hatteberg walked and took second on Offerman's two-out single.
Gilkey hit a routine grounder to shortstop for what looked like the
third out, but Royce Clayton had trouble getting the ball out of his glove, and Gilkey reached on the error, loading the bases.
"It was a high hop, a weird play," Clayton said. "I just couldn't get a good grip on the ball and I didn't have a play at second."
The Red Sox already had left the bases loaded in the second and seventh, but they didn't waste this chance.
Wetteland hit Everett, who had struck out in his previous three at-bats, cutting the lead to 7-6.
Lansing then lined a 1-1 pitch off the left-field wall, driving in the decisive runs and sending his teammates racing out of the dugout to congratulate him.
"We're not scoring early in games," Lansing said. "We're
coming back late and we're scoring runs and our bullpen's keeping
us in games."
Boston remained four games behind the AL East-leading New York
Yankees.
"Boston is in the playoff race for a reason," Texas starter Rick Helling said. "They find a way to win. We're finding ways to lose."
Boston's comeback began in the seventh with O'Leary's 10th homer
of the season. But it was Lansing's night.
"We kept getting opportunities and guys just kept plugging
away," Lansing said. "You don't play five innings, you've got to
play nine."
Game notes
Helling started against Tim Wakefield for the second time
in six days. Helling won Saturday's game in Texas 6-3. ... Boston's
Lou Merloni is 9-for-16 in four games since being called up from
Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday. He went 3-for-5 Thursday. ... Gabe
Kapler went 1-for-5 for Texas, one day after his 28-game hitting
streak, longest in the majors this season, ended. ... Helling threw
118 pitches, increasing his AL-high total to 3,047. ... Greer had
three doubles and he and Catalanotto each drove in three runs.
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