Jonah Heim and Leody Taveras hit back-to-back home runs from the bottom of the order to erase a three-run deficit in the fourth inning, leading the Texas Rangers to a 7-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night.
Rob Refsnyder, who matched his career highs with four hits and three RBIs, hit solo home runs in his first two at-bats—his sixth and seventh of the season—helping the Red Sox take a 3-0 lead before Heim’s three-run homer tied the game.
Just two pitches after Heim’s 10th homer, Taveras hit a liner into the first row of the right-field seats for his ninth home run of the season. This win marked the second in the past eight games for the defending World Series champions.
Texas reliever José Leclerc (5-4) struck out Ceddanne Rafaela with a checked swing on a full-count pitch in the dirt with the bases loaded while the Rangers were down 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning.
Kirby Yates, the sixth Texas pitcher and the only reliever in the majors without a blown save in at least eight opportunities, earned his 20th save by getting the last four outs.
Yates finished the eighth inning with a bases-loaded strikeout of Jarren Duran, who had hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the AL’s 5-3 victory at the Rangers’ home last month.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said, “Really hard-fought game. Bullpen. Gutty effort by everybody. All of them did something to pick each other up. It was really a well-played game for us.”
The fourth set of consecutive homers for Texas this season came after Tanner Houck struck out seven in the first three innings, including six straight outs on strikes, capped by a 13-pitch at-bat against Marcus Semien to end the third inning.
Boston manager Alex Cora said, “Two pitches, right? And it happened fairly quick against the bottom of the order. I think he threw it well.”
Houck (8-8) was taken out after allowing three consecutive hits to start the sixth inning, and the Rangers added three more runs against Brennan Bernardino in a three-run inning. Ezequiel Duran, Taveras, and Josh Smith, who had three hits, each drove in a run with a single.
