It Felt Like Red October, and Red Sox Taught Texas Rangers What Knockout Blow Feels Like

ARLINGTON - Michael Young, club conscience, stood at his locker late Friday night and indicated the Rangers would again discard a tough loss like yesterday’s trash: “I don’t sit here and pout over this game.”

Rangers fans have six weeks to see if Friday night’s 8-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox can be filed away as just another game. They’ll see if their team, considered a late-season heavyweight for the first time in a decade, can take a punch from a playoff veteran. One pitch away from snatching the Sox’s position atop the wild-card standings, the Rangers stood flatfooted and took the full force of a six-run uppercut in the top of the ninth inning.

“There was definitely a lot of energy out there, which is exactly what we wanted coming out of spring training,” Rangers starter Kevin Millwood said. “We were right there.”

Almost there.

The late-game events negated a gutty start from Millwood, who removed himself in the sixth inning with a shutout intact. Negated the latest display of fielding wizardry: a double play started by Omar Vizquel using his glove like a jai alai cesta. Negated fundamental execution that scored a run via a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly. Negated another multi-hit game by the revived Josh Hamilton, 20-for-40 since the start of the last road trip.

Negated the zany play in the top of the ninth in which Boston’s Clay Buchholz – pitcher by trade, pinch-runner by necessity – was thrown out trying to score from second on a double off the left-field wall by Dustin Pedroia. David Murphy played it on one hop and missed cutoff man Elvis Andrus, but Young took the wayward ball and fired to Taylor Teagarden in time to nab what would have been the tying run for the second out.

That left the better part of 40,311 at Rangers Ballpark exhilarated, exhausted and probably thinking destiny was on the Rangers’ side this night and maybe this season. But Frank Francisco, back in the closer’s role following his most recent health woes, couldn’t get the third out. He started the ninth, faced eight batters and retired one. The six runs marked the worst performance of his big-league career. He threw 34 pitches after throwing 21 on Thursday afternoon in Cleveland.

The Rangers lost a ninth-inning lead for only the second time this season. The other one that got away came only 11 days earlier off C.J. Wilson, who has filled in as closer while Francisco has been DL’ed or working his way back from shoulder soreness and most recently pneumonia. Manager Ron Washington reiterated Friday night that he believes using Wilson to set up – on occasion getting more than three outs – and Francisco to close gives his team the best chance to win.

The Rangers missed a chance to also gain a game in the A.L. West on the Los Angeles Angels, who were getting shelled in Baltimore. Ian Kinsler should make his return from the disabled list on Saturday night, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia might be joining Nelson Cruz there.

Derek Holland will start with a chance to put together two impressive starts for the first time. He tossed a three-hit shutout last Sunday in Anaheim. After his initial gem two weeks ago against Seattle, he didn’t last five innings in Oakland.

Another big crowd should show up Saturday night to see if these Rangers can counterpunch.

Said Washington: “They’re pretty good at taking it a day at a time.”