RED SOX 8, RANGERS 4: Sox keep on rolling

BOSTON -- It never seems to stop, does it?

The Red Sox keep winning, winning and winning no matter who is on the mound, who is behind the plate, or who is on the disabled list.

They beat the Rangers again Tuesday night, 8-4, and have won eight in a row, 13 of their last 15, 15 of their last 18. The Yankees lost to the Orioles and Boston has increased its lead in the AL East to 3 1/2 games, its most comfortable margin since April 26.

The Sox are 64-29. That projects to 111 victories, which would be one of the greatest seasons in major league history by any team. Even if they go a mediocre 36-33 for their last 69 games, they will still win 100 games for the first time since 1946.

Who was on the mound, anyway?

Hector Velazquez started and went three. Jalen Beeks, Brandon Workman, Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly and Ryan Brasier followed. Barnes got the win in an official scorer’s decision to improve to 3-2.

Who was behind the plate?

Blake Swihart, making his second start of the season, and he was 2 for 4 with a double and two runs.

Who is on the disabled list?

Who isn’t?

“The game went the way we planned it,” said Alex Cora, and if this manager thing doesn’t work out long term, how about providing advice for 401(k)s? 

The Sox had 12 hits, seven of them for extra bases. Oddly, none of them departed the ballpark. Boston had six doubles, including two apiece by Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr., as well as a triple by Xander Bogaerts.

Swihart, a talk-show target for much of the season, has begun to show why the Red Sox have always regarded him highly. His average is up to .200 — no big deal even in today’s all-or-nothing baseball — but it was .147 on June 21.

“He did an outstanding job, blocked a few balls, called the game with conviction,” Cora said of his catcher. “Offensively, he got us going with that double. It was good to see.”

Velazquez did a nice job for Boston. He worked the first three innings and allowed only one run, Rougned Odor’s home run to right field with one out in the second. And while it seems unfair that Velazquez was the only Sox pitcher not eligible to get the win, three of his four wins in relief this year have been for two-inning efforts.

Beeks would have gotten the win had he pitched better, but he didn’t. In fact, if not for three defensive gems behind him — one by Bogaerts, a homer-rob by Mookie Betts off Nomar Mazara in the fifth and a diving grab by Bradley in the sixth -- Beeks would likely have coughed up the lead.

Barnes faced three batters in the seventh and struck out all three. It was a 7-4 game then, a save situation, so he got the win.

Rangers starter Yovani Gallardo faced seven batters and got seven outs before the Red Sox figured him out and scored five runs in their half of the third inning. With one out, Swihart hit a double to the triangle that bounced into the seats behind the Boston bullpen. Otherwise, it would have been a triple, but that fact was rendered moot when Bradley doubled to center field as well.

Betts fanned for the second out of the inning, but that provided only temporary respite for Gallardo because Benintendi followed with yet another double in the general direction of center field.

That drove in Bradley to make it 3-1, then J.D. Martinez singled Benintendi over to third. Mitch Moreland’s base hit to right increased Boston’s lead to 4-1. Bogaerts tripled to center, scoring Moreland, and the Red Sox’ lead was 5-1 and, really, never in doubt from that point on.

“Lineup- wise, everybody’s doing an outstanding job,” Cora said. “Not only Mookie and J.D.; Xander’s doing an outstanding job and you saw Jackie today going the other way; Swihart, too.

“It’s a pretty good lineup from top to bottom.”

Right now, that lineup has them on top, no matter who's in it.