Boston in action against Texas following Sale's solid showing
Texas Rangers (35-30, second in the AL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (34-33, third in the AL East)
Boston; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Boston heads into the matchup fresh off a strong showing by Chris Sale. Sale threw seven innings, giving up zero runs on three hits with 10 strikeouts against Texas.
The Red Sox are 15-16 on their home turf. Boston has a team on-base percentage of .332, good for third in the American League. Mookie Betts leads the lineup with a mark of .377.
The Rangers are 11-18 on the road. The Texas offense has compiled a .258 batting average as a team this season, good for seventh in the MLB. Elvis Andrus leads the team with a mark of .303. The Rangers won the last meeting 4-3. Jesse Chavez notched his second victory and Danny Santana went 4-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI for Texas. Ryan Brasier took his third loss for Boston.
TOP PERFORMERS: Xander Bogaerts leads the Red Sox with 12 home runs and is slugging .510. Andrew Benintendi has 11 hits and is batting .306 over the last 10 games for Boston.
Andrus leads the Rangers with 70 hits and has 34 RBIs. Nomar Mazara is 12-for-42 with a double, a home run and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Texas.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 5-5, .251 batting average, 4.06 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs
Rangers: 7-3, .283 batting average, 3.88 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs
Red Sox Injuries: Hector Velazquez: 10-day IL (back), Tyler Thornburg: 10-day IL (hip), Brian Johnson: 10-day IL (elbow), Nathan Eovaldi: 10-day IL (elbow), Dustin Pedroia: 60-day IL (knee), Steve Pearce: 10-day IL (back), Mitch Moreland: 10-day IL (quad), Tzu-Wei Lin: 10-day IL (knee).
Rangers Injuries: Edinson Volquez: 60-day IL (elbow), Yohander Mendez: 60-day IL (elbow), Taylor Hearn: 60-day IL (elbow), Luke Farrell: 60-day IL (jaw), Kyle Dowdy: 10-day IL (elbow), Scott Heineman: 60-day IL (shoulder), Joey Gallo: 10-day IL (oblique), Willie Calhoun: 10-day IL (quad), Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 10-day IL (finger).
