It was a rotten weekend for the Red Sox in Arlington, Texas, as the Rangers swept the Sox. You knew that sooner or later a series like this would happen.
The offense was virtually non-existent, as the Sox were shut out on Friday, scored just once on Saturday, and could manage just three runs on two home runs on Sunday.
Felix Doubront allowed a staggering 12 hits in 4 innings on Friday, allowing 6 runs. (He really should have allowed just 1, as a swinging third strike to end the inning on Ian Kinsler was not called, and Texas went on to score 5 in the inning.) His velocity was noticeably down, and that is a worrying sign.
John Lackey wasn't terrible on Saturday, going 5 innings and allowing just 2 earned runs. But the offense couldn't back him up. And Texas strolled to an easy 5-1 win.
The best matchup of the weekend was Sunday: Jon Lester vs. Yu Darvish. The Sox got to Darvish early, on home runs by David Ortiz and David Ross. But that was basically it. Darvish settled in, allowing just one more hit and striking out 14 in 7 innings. Lester pitched well until the 6th, allowing a Nelson Cruz two-run shot in the sixth to tie it at 3.
The Rangers won it in the ninth on Adrian Beltre's RBI single off Clayton Mortensen.
Texas outpitched the Sox to the sweep, with most Red Sox hitters having tough weekends. David Ortiz did extend his hitting streak to 25 games (dating back to last July when he was injured, ending his 2012 season).
The Sox are now tied with Texas and St. Louis for the best record in MLB, and still lead the AL East by 1 1/2 games over New York. They now return to Fenway for four games with Minnesota.