Jonah Heim and Leody Taveras each hit consecutive home runs from the bottom of the order to erase a three-run deficit in the fourth inning, propelling the Texas Rangers to a 7-4 win 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—giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead before Heim’s three-run homer leveled the score.
Shortly after Heim’s 10th home run, Taveras added a line drive into the first row of the right-field seats for his ninth home run of the year.
This victory was the Rangers’ second win in their last eight games, with the defending World Series champions looking to build momentum.
In a crucial moment, Texas reliever José Leclerc (5-4) struck out Ceddanne Rafaela with a checked swing on a full-count pitch in the dirt, while the Rangers were down 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning with the bases loaded.
Kirby Yates, the sixth Texas pitcher and the only reliever in the majors with a perfect save record in at least eight opportunities, secured his 20th save by recording the final 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.