• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Red Sox go for sweep in annual Patriots' Day game

Apr 21, 2008 - 1:03 PM Texas (7-12) at Boston (13-7), 11:05 am EDT

BOSTON (Ticker) - The best comeback team in the majors in the early going, the Boston Red Sox have become a daunting task for any team's bullpen.

The Red Sox will be aiming for a sweep of their four-game series when they host the Texas Rangers on Monday in the annual Patriots' Day game at Fenway Park.

Boston scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday to pull out a 6-5 win. Jed Lowrie and Dustin Pedroia each doubled in runs in the frame, and David Ortiz singled and came around to score.

It marked the fifth time in 20 games this season that the Red Sox have won on their last at-bat, and earned the team its eighth come-from-behind victory of the campaign. The Rangers have been on the losing end of two of those comeback wins on Saturday and Sunday.

Despite Manny Ramirez getting thrown out of the game after his first at-bat for arguing balls and strikes, the offense found its groove on Sunday as Ortiz continued to break out of his early-season slump.

Their six runs between the seventh and eighth innings Sunday increased Boston's major league-leading total of runs scored in the seventh inning or later to 42.

Familiar face Kason Gabbard (1-0, 2.41 ERA) will try to slow Boston's attack on Monday. The sinkerballing lefthander came up through the Red Sox system and went 4-0 in seven starts last season before leaving for Texas in the Eric Gagne deal at the trade deadline.

The 26-year-old has been sharp this season, allowing three runs or less in each of his three outings.

The Red Sox will counter with rookie Clay Buchholz (0-1, 6.75). The promising young righthander will be trying to recover from Wednesday's start against the Yankees when he allowed seven runs in 3 2/3 innings but did not factor in the decision.

Boston traditionally plays a morning game on Patriots' Day, which usually ends before the lead runners come through Kenmore Square toward the finish line at the Boston Marathon.