Red Sox @ Rangers: Rangers rack up 15 against Wake and the 'pen

Yesterday, Tim Wakefield reached a personal and professional milestone that really deserves to be recognized. The Red Sox' elder statesman joined a select group by appearing in his 500th game for the same team. He joined an even more select group as he became the 23rd pitcher in MLB history to accomplish the aforementioned feat AND make 350 starts for that team.

Unfortunately for the Red Sox and their fans, that was about the only memorable thing about Wakefield's start in Texas last evening.

Wake was absolutely shelled to the tune of 7 earned runs in less than 2 innings of work. He also gave up 4 hits and 4 walks in just 1.2 innings pitched. Needless to say, it wasn't one of the finer outings he's had in his 14 seasons with the Sox.

The bulk of the damage was done by Rangers outfielders. MVP candidate Josh Hamilton went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI, Brandon Boggs finished 1-for-3 with 2 runs scored, and most impressively, Nelson Cruz had 2 homers and 5 RBI in a 3-for-5 performance. The Rangers finished with 16 total hits as a team.

The Sox weren't exactly slouches at the plate as they strung together 13 hits themselves. Youk hit his 25th homer of the season and plated 3, while 6-through-8 batters Lowell, Lowrie and Crisp had 2 hits apiece. Normally, 8 runs is enough to get the job done, but with the knuckleball flying around Ameriquest Field in Arlington in the first 2 innings, the Sox were already too deep in the hole to be able to dig themselves out.