Boston ran into the kind of October-caliber pitching test Chad Tracy had in mind Tuesday night, and the Red Sox never quite found the hit that would turn their rally into a comeback. Jacob deGrom held the line after Nick Sogard’s third-inning homer, and the Rangers carried a 4-2 win at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Red Sox Leave the Door Open, Rangers Shut It
The Red Sox were chasing the game almost immediately after Patrick Sandoval’s promising opening turned in the second inning. Sandoval struck out each of the first four Rangers he faced, then allowed four runs on four hits and two walks before his night ended after 2 2/3 innings.
That four-run damage was all Texas needed, though Boston’s relievers gave the club every chance to climb back. Four bullpen arms covered the final 5 1/3 innings without allowing a run and combined for five strikeouts. Tracy was able to distribute the work rather than ask one reliever to wear multiple innings, with several bullpen options entering the night on five, six or seven days of rest.
That flexibility matters with Boston headed toward a key series in St. Petersburg. The Red Sox can secure a postseason berth as early as Thursday against the Rays, and Tracy said the club wanted to preserve options in case it needed coverage for a future start while avoiding an unnecessary workload on any one arm.
Offensively, Boston’s clearest breakthrough came after deGrom had retired the first seven hitters. Caleb Durbin put a one-out single into center in the third, and Sogard followed by staying on a 91.3 mph slider that dipped below the strike zone. The left-handed hitter sent it 357 feet to right field, with a 102 mph exit velocity, and the ball cleared the wall by only a small margin.
Sogard said he had seen just one fastball in the plate appearance, a pitch up and in, and anticipated that deGrom might try to finish him with something moving toward his back foot with two strikes. He was not fully waiting on the slider, Sogard said, but got the barrel there soon enough to keep it fair.
The homer cut Texas’ lead to 4-2 and gave Boston its opening against one of the game’s premier starters. Sogard called it a moment that “gave us a chance,” while noting that the pitching staff kept the Red Sox within reach throughout the evening.
Boston had its chances. In the fifth, Jarren Duran was hit by a pitch, Durbin reached on catcher’s interference and Mickey Gasper drew a two-out walk to load the bases. DeGrom escaped by retiring Adley Rutschman for the final out of the inning. The Red Sox filled the bases again in the eighth, but Jacob Latz retired the last five hitters he faced to finish the job for Texas.
The final tally was nine runners left aboard, the difference in a two-run game. Tracy said the club had created enough opportunities to tie it with a single, but could not convert one Tuesday.
For Sogard, the homer continued a stronger offensive season. He is batting .264 with a .360 on-base percentage and .416 slugging percentage, good for a .776 OPS, along with 13 doubles, one triple and five homers. He had not gone deep in 61 Major League games spanning the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Sogard credited a more consistent approach built around competing through at-bats, finding hittable pitches and doing more damage when he gets them.
Boston’s larger stretch remains a study in contrast. The club went 32-5 from June 25 through Aug. 7, then settled into an 18-18 mark over the ensuing five-plus weeks. Still, Sogard saw little reason for alarm after another tight game on the season’s final road trip through Arlington and St. Petersburg. The Red Sox, he said, remain in games and have been winning enough of them to be in a good position.
SEO Title: Red Sox Fall 4-2 to Rangers as Jacob deGrom Holds Off Boston Rally
SEO Description: Nick Sogard hit a two-run homer against Jacob deGrom, but the Red Sox stranded nine runners in a 4-2 loss to the Rangers before a crucial Rays series.
