ARLINGTON, Texas (KNTU) Right fielder Nomar Mazara continued to own the month of May, leading the Rangers to an 11-5 rout of the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, May 3.
The tall lefty affectionately known as “The Big Chill” had two hits and five RBIs, pushing his average up to .285.
“[Mazara] is by far one of the better young hitters, in my opinion, in this game,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “Given the hitters we have in our lineup, he is the guy that we feel most comfortable to be able to be put in that spot and be able to do some damage for us.”
Mazara has homered every day this month, the second time in his career he has homered in three-straight games, accounting for half of his season total.
The clean-up hitter belted a high-arcing three-run blast to center field to cap off a six-run fourth inning that gave the Rangers a 10-3 lead. Texas’ (13-20) 11 runs are a season high.
The Rangers have struggled this season hitting with runners on base but came through with a season-high five hits with runners in scoring position.
Left-handed pitcher Mike Minor (3-1) got the start and the win. It was a protypical performance from Minor, whose ERA barely moved from 4.33 to 4.36. His three victories lead the Rangers.
The southpaw started the game strong, retiring the first three batters he faced in five pitches, including MLB homerun leader Mookie Betts.
“Probably not as sharp as we’ve seen [Minor] in some of the other outings,” Banister said. “He made some really good pitches when he needed to. I think the best attack for him tonight was his fastball-changeup combo.”
Minor retired the last six batters he faced before exiting after the sixth.
Texas improved to 4-2 in Minor’s six starts this season.
Before Thursday’s matchup with Boston, the Rangers had yet to win a series opener at home but captured their first of 2018. Texas is now 2-10 in series openers and 5-3 in their last eight games.
Despite the loss of critical batters in the lineup, the offense has shown signs of life over the last week.
Shortstop Jurickson Profar has played well in the absence of Elvis Andrus, eight hits in his last 12 at-bats and is tied with Shin-Soo Choo for most walks this season (14). Catcher Robinson Chirinos, who finished Thursday 2-for-3 with an RBI double, has also found his groove at the plate. 10 of his last 11 hits have come in the form of six home runs and four doubles.
“It tells me that our club loves the game of baseball and they’re not going away,” said Banister.
UP NEXT:
Texas will send the veteran Bartolo Colon (1-0, 2.87) to mound to start the second game of the four-game set on Friday. Boston will counter with undefeated right-hander Rick Porcello (4-0, 2.23) to try and tame the unpredictable Texas offense.
