Just When You Thought You Were Out...

The Red Sox received 7 strong innings from starting pitcher Aaron Cook and banged out 14 hits as they beat Texas 9-2 in the opener of a 3-game series against the Rangers at Fenway Park.

Cook scattered 6 hits and allowed just 1 run; he struck out 2 and walked 3 batters. Junichi Tazawa pitched the 8th and 9th innings. He allowed a solo home run to former Red Sox 3rd baseman Adrian Beltre in the top of the 9th.



The Red Sox rapped out 11 hits off Texas starter Yu Darvish including 7 doubles. Jacoby Ellsbury (pictured) had a pair of two-baggers and Dustin Pedroia slammed 3 off Darvish. Carl Crawford (2 hits) and Adrian Gonzalez (3 hits) each had 3 RBI's.

And it's nights like this that you find yourself thinking, "This is EXACTLY what this team should be capable of doing on a regular basis."

So is tonight's win enough to give you even the slightest glimmer of hope, or is the 2012 season simply too far gone?