ARLINGTON (Interstat) — Jacob deGrom pitched five innings, struck out eight and got just enough support as the Texas Rangers scored four times in the second inning and held on for a 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night at Globe Life Park.

Texas improved to 75-76. Boston fell to 82-69.

deGrom, who has been among the most reliable starters in the majors this season, won for the 11th time against nine losses. He allowed three hits, two earned runs and one walk. The only real damage against him came in the third inning, when Nick Sogard hit a two-run home run to right field. That was Sogard’s fifth homer of the season and drove in Caleb Durbin, who had singled earlier in the inning.

The Rangers did all their scoring in the second against Boston starter Patrick Sandoval, who took the loss and dropped to 1-6. Sandoval struck out the side in the first inning, but Texas broke through in the second. Brandon Nimmo singled sharply to center, and after Wyatt Langford flew out, Ezequiel Duran singled to left to put runners on first and second. Elias Díaz then lined a two-run double to left field, scoring Nimmo and Ezequiel Duran.

The rally continued when Danny Jansen walked and Justin Foscue walked to load the bases. Corey Seager followed with a two-run single on a fly ball to left field, scoring Díaz and Jansen. That gave Texas a 4-0 lead and proved to be the decisive swing of the game. Josh Jung struck out swinging to end the inning, but the damage was done.

Boston answered in the top of the third. Jarren Duran struck out to begin the inning, but Caleb Durbin singled to center. Sogard then hit a line-drive homer to right field, cutting the Texas lead to 4-2. deGrom limited the damage, striking out Roman Anthony and getting Adley Rutschman to line out to shortstop Corey Seager after Mickey Gasper singled. deGrom then struck out the side in the fourth, fanning Willson Contreras, Wilyer Abreu and Trevor Story.

deGrom’s recent form has been strong. He entered the game after a six-inning, one-hit, 12-strikeout performance at Seattle on Sept. 10, though he took the loss in that game. On Sept. 5 against Tampa Bay, he allowed two earned runs over six innings with seven strikeouts. He continued that trend Tuesday, mixing his fastball and slider effectively and keeping Boston’s lineup off balance for most of his outing.

Boston’s bullpen kept the game close after Sandoval departed. Brayan Bello threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out two. Jovani Morán followed with two scoreless innings, also allowing no hits while striking out one. Alec Gamboa pitched a scoreless inning with one hit, one walk and one strikeout. Wyatt Olds recorded two outs and gave up two hits with one strikeout. The Red Sox staff held Texas scoreless over the final seven innings, but the offense could not erase the early deficit.

Texas turned to its bullpen in the middle innings. Tyler Alexander pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout. Chase Silseth struck out three in a scoreless inning while allowing one hit. Robert Garcia recorded one out and allowed one hit and one walk. Jacob Latz then closed it out, earning his 29th save. Latz pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three.

Latz entered in the eighth with a runner on and one out. He got Abreu to ground out, intentionally walked Story, and then struck out Andruw Monasterio to end the threat. In the ninth, Latz struck out Durbin on a foul tip, got Sogard to ground out to shortstop, allowed a two-out single to Roman Anthony, and then struck out Jahmai Jones swinging to end the game. The save preserved the win for deGrom.

Boston finished with six hits. Durbin, Gasper, Story, Jahmai Jones, Roman Anthony and Sogard each had one hit. Sogard drove in both runs. Texas had seven hits. Nimmo, Ezequiel Duran, Díaz, Seager and Jansen each contributed. Díaz doubled, and Seager delivered the biggest hit of the night with his two-run single. The Rangers also drew four walks, including two in the decisive second inning.

The game took 2 hours, 59 minutes and was played in front of an announced attendance of 30,907 at Globe Life Park. The teams will meet again Wednesday night in the second game of the series. Boston will then play at Tampa Bay for three games, while Texas will host Toronto for three games after the Red Sox leave town.

For Boston, the loss dropped the Red Sox to 82-69. Texas is now 75-76. The Rangers have won two of their last three games, including a 7-6 victory at Arizona on Sept. 13. Boston had won two straight against Kansas City before Tuesday, beating the Royals 4-1 on Sept. 13 and 5-1 on Sept. 12.

The most important part of the game was the second inning, when Texas turned a scoreless game into a 4-0 lead. Sandoval had retired the side in order in the first, but the Rangers strung together three hits, two walks and a two-run double and a two-run single. Seager’s single was the key blow. Boston got two runs back on Sogard’s homer, but deGrom and the Texas bullpen made sure the Red Sox did not score again.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Boston 7, Texas 5. Interstat’s ELO system gave Boston a 56.4 percent pregame probability to win. Boston was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The pregame over/under line was 8, and the teams combined for 6 runs.