Red Sox Notes: These Two Bats Helped Boston End Losing Streak

BOSTON — The Red Sox needed to set themselves straight and snap a three-game losing streak.

Alex Bregman and Wilyer Abreu led the way for Boston to do just that.

The Red Sox earned a 6-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night and the two hitters told the story of the game. Bregman and Abreu combined to go 6-for-8 with two doubles, three home runs and drove in all six runs for Boston.

Bregman hit a solo shot in the fourth inning and gave the Red Sox the lead when Texas declined to walk him with first base open. The third baseman delivered with a two-run single to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Abreu homered two at-bats after Bregman in the fourth, doubled in the tying run in the sixth inning and homered again on a long ball in the eighth inning. The Red Sox right fielder found his swing again with his third career multi-home run game.

By the way, all three of those have come against the Rangers.

“Outstanding,” Alex Cora said of Abreu’s performance. “Put good at-bats. Got pitches he was able to handle. Pushed them down so he could get to it. Put some great swings. The one against the lefty, that was a great at-bat.”

The Red Sox have had games where they’ve had no problem putting up runs. The issue lately has been scoring when it matters. Late innings. Leverage situations. Adding on after an early big frame.

That’s what the Red Sox got to end the losing streak and give themselves a chance at their first series win since late April against the Cleveland Guardians.

Here are more notes from Wednesday’s Rangers-Red Sox game:

— Bregman’s big night also included his 200th career home run.

— Aroldis Chapman broke his own record for the fastest pitch by a Red Sox pitcher in the StatCast era. He fired a fastball at 103.8 MPH to Texas infielder Blaine Crim. The pitch read at 104 MPH on the NESN broadcast.

— Cora said postgame that Romy Gonzalez is day-to-day after he left the game when his back tightened up on a collision at first base.

— Tanner Houck allowed just two earned runs while a pair of busy innings kept him from finishing five frames. Boston lifted its starter after 4 2/3 innings and 89 pitches. Houck told reporters he felt his stuff was better once again, and his velocity increased over his season average for the second straight start.

— The Red Sox and Rangers wrap up their three-game series Thursday afternoon at Fenway Park. Brayan Bello takes the ball for Boston while Texas counters with Jack Leiter. First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.