“Some guys have really stepped up in the bullpen,” said Texas manager Skip Schumaker. “Our starting pitching, for the most part, has been really good as well, but we’ve had some timely hits, played small-ball, played the long ball, so I think we’re finally coming together as a team and finding different ways to win. That’s the biggest difference than maybe the beginning of the year.”
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The good news for the Sox? Sonny Gray will get the start in the opener. The righthander is 5-0 with a 2.43 ERA in his last six starts.
The Rangers will counter with righthander Jack Leiter.
Here is a preview.
RANGERS (34-34): Pederson DH, Jung 3B, Nimmo RF, Langford LF, Duran SS, Carter CF, Burger 1B, Higashioka C, Lopez 2B
Pitching: RHP Jack Leiter (3-5, 4.69 ERA)
RED SOX (27-39): Gasper DH, Rafaela CF, Abreu RF, Contreras 1B, Duran LF, Durbin 3B, Kiner-Falefa 2B, Mayer SS, Wong C
Pitching: RHP Sonny Gray (7-1, 3.20 ERA)
Time: 7:10 p.m.
TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7
Rangers vs. Gray: Jake Burger 2-9, Ezequiel Duran 1-5, Elias Díaz 1-4, Kyle Higashioka 2-6, Josh Jung 0-3, Wyatt Langford 0-3, Nicky Lopez 2-14, Brandon Nimmo 5-13, Joc Pederson 0-11, Corey Seager 3-12
Red Sox vs. Leiter: Wilyer Abreu 1-4, Willson Contreras 1-2, Jarren Duran 1-5, Caleb Durbin 0-1, Isiah Kiner-Falefa 0-2, Carlos Narváez 0-1, Ceddanne Rafaela 1-3, Connor Wong 0-2
Stat of the day: The Red Sox are 1-5 against the AL West.
Notes: Gray is 11-5 with a 2.87 ERA in 19 games (18 starts) vs. the Rangers. In his most recent start, he allowed three runs on eight hits in 6⅓ innings in a 5-3 win over the Yankees on June 5. … Caleb Durbin has started the last 12 games, hitting .341/.348/.636 with eight extra-base hits. … Leiter is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in two career starts against the Red Sox, both last season. He gave up five runs on six hits in 4⅔ innings his last time out in a 6-0 loss to the Guardians on Saturday. … The Rangers are coming off back-to-back victories at Kansas City.
Follow Andrew Mahoney @GlobeMahoney.
