Friday night, the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox agreed on a deal that would send Mike Napoli and cash to the Rangers for a player to be named later (or cash). 313 with his three-hit performance.
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Tigers’ lowlights • Jose Iglesias singled in the first inning and was promptly picked off first when Miley threw behind Iglesias as he took off for second on a steal attempt.
The Tigers evened their series with the Red Sox after a back-and-forth affair. The Rangers have won four in a row and 7 of their last 10 games. Texas was 5 1/2 back of first-place Houston in the AL West.
Also notching a three-hit game for the Red Sox was Blake Swihart, while Alejandro De Aza – who started after Hanley Ramirez was a late scratch due to a sore foot – claimed a pair of hits. Norris has already been anointed the future of the Tigers rotation as he faces a tough challenge taking on a very deadly, but underachieving Red Sox team. David Ortiz just missed a solo home run but doubled off the wall to straightaway center to lead off the inning.
Detroit cut into the five-run lead in the bottom of the fourth, with J.D. Martinez taking Kelly deep for his 30th home run of the season.
Norris was hoping for better in his first game in Detroit. There has been a long stretch of games in which his bat path might not be as consistent. Napoli did come up to the big leagues as a catcher, but he has not played a game behind the plate since 2012 and the Rangers have no plans to use him at his old position.
Boston led 2-0 after four innings, while Red Sox starter Wade Miley controlled the Tigers’ batters. Pablo Sandoval, originally given a night off, played third and took Napoli’s spot in the order while Travis Shaw moved from third to first. He averages a home run nearly every 10 at-bats at the park in his career.
MILWAUKEE – Randal Grichuk hit a three-run homer to cap a six-run fifth inning, and Lance Lynn pitched St. Louis past Milwaukee.
The 27-year-old Leake (9-6), acquired from Cincinnati last week for two prospects, was scheduled to make his second start for the Giants on Friday in Chicago against the Cubs. Wilson tweeted Napoli’s phone number to his 120,000 followers and it didn’t sit well with the first baseman. He batted.275/.379/.552 with 54 homers and 131 RBIs over 221 games with Texas.
Ortiz made it 4-0 in the third, his 22nd of the season. “Above all else, he cares about the team, his teammates and winning more than he cares about himself”, Asmus said.
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The Texas Rangers move to acquire Mike Napoli is significant in that it represents a win-now attitude. In trouble on and off throughout the night, he allowed six runs, all earned, on nine hits and a walk.
