By: Tyler Ward
Friday night was just a horrible day all the way around for the sinking Boston Red Sox. The newly-acquired catcher, Bengie Molina, completely dominated Boston, becoming the ninth player ever to hit for the cycle and a grand slam in the same game. His last two at-bats were the grand slam and a triple to seal the cycle.
Going 4-for-4 on the night, Molina hit a grand slam in the fifth inning to cap off a five-run inning for the Rangers. Texas took a 7-3 lead and Boston was never able to recover. Leading off the eighth inning, Molina hit a triple over Boston center fielder, Eric Patterson, to still remain as the only Molina brother to hit for the cycle. He, then, proceeded to smile at his teammates as they cheered the slow catcher on.
Molina's cycle was the fifth in Rangers history - he also hit for the cycle on April 29, 2009, as a member of the San Francisco Giants. This was the first time since 1978 that the Red Sox have given up a cycle at Fenway Park.
The depleted Red Sox line-up has suffered many injuries as of late, with former MVP Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Varitek, and Jeremy Hermida all currently on the disabled list. Clay Buchholz made a rehab start for Triple-A affiliate, Pawtucket, on Friday. Additionally, former Cy Young winner Josh Beckett is expected to make a rehab start for Pawtucket on Saturday.
In the first inning, Elvis Andrus scored on an infield single by Ian Kinsler. Later in the inning, Nelson Cruz singled to center, scoring Kinsler to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead. The Red Sox answered in the second inning with J.D. Drew singling to right center, scoring Kevin Youkilis. Drew then proceeded to score on a wild pitch by opposing pitcher, Colby Lewis.
The Red Sox took a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning when Adrian Beltre hit a solo home run. The lead wouldn't last long as Texas loaded the bases against young relief pitcher, Fernando Cabrera. Cabrera surrendered a walk to David Murphy, which scored All-Star Michael Young. Later, Cabrera was facing the hero of the night, Bengie Molina. He got ahead of Molina on a 0-2 count, but then proceeded to give up a grand slam, giving the Rangers a 7-3 lead.The lead was cut to three in the sixth inning when Youkilis hit a sacrifice fly, scoring David Ortiz. They would get no more runs and the Rangers scored one more run in the eighth inning to give the Rangers an 8-4 win.
With the loss, the Red Sox are now 6.5 games behind the defending champion New York Yankees for the AL East crown. Second place, Tampa Bay Rays, remains the leader for lone Wild Card spot, leading the Red Sox by 3.5 games. This puts the injury-plagued Red Sox at a 51-39 record.
