"This is definitely not the situation we would like to be," center fielder Johnny Damon said. "We have to battle as hard as we can until we get very healthy. The fact is, we're a little banged up. We're just not where we need to be. We can turn it around with one great game, and hopefully it comes [Saturday]."

The Red Sox disabled list includes Curt Schilling and David Wells, 40 percent of their rotation.

"We have bull's-eyes on us now," Damon said. "Every team is prepared for us. We need to play better as a whole, have better at-bats, play better 'D' and I think we'll be fine. It's always a crucial time. We need to play well. We need to win. When you win, you quiet the naysayers.

"We're used to chaotic. We don't mind it. We need to find our stride. We're just missing it, but 11-11, we're not happy with the situation. We got off to a better start last year. We're going to have to play better. This is a very important time for us with Wells and Schilling out. I think the month of May will dictate how we look at July 31st [the trading deadline], whether or not we're in the market or we're the other guys."

"It's something different every night," he added. "When we pitch well, we don't hit. We need to change that style of play. We get to the point in games where it is, 'here we go again.' We just need to hang in there."

A defensive snafu helped the Rangers score a run in the first off Tim Wakefield when Hank Blalock's fly ball to left-center fell in between Damon and Manny Ramirez for a cheap double.

"It's just one of those balls that I thought he was going to get and he thought I was going to," Damon said. "It's not a good way to start an inning. That is something that should not happen. I'll take the blame. I'll catch it next time."

The Red Sox took a 2-1 lead off Chan Ho Park in the fourth when Kevin Millar's two-out triple scored Ramirez and David Ortiz, who both had walked. That was basically it for the Red Sox offense. The three hits were a season low.

"Right now we've hit a little bump in the road," Millar said. "Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. We'll be OK. We'll pick each other up."

Park's seven innings and seven strikeouts were a season high.

"Park was hitting his spots," Damon said. "He worked quick when guys got on base, which we hardly did, so you can hardly run on him because he's so quick."

It appeared Wakefield might hold the 2-1 lead, but the Rangers scored three in sixth after two out. Alfonso Soriano's home run with Blalock aboard snapped a 2-2 tie.

"I didn't feel tired. I knew my pitch count was up," said Wakefield, who threw 110 pitches in 6 2/3 innings. "I just made one mistake to Soriano and it cost us the game."

Bench coach Brad Mills, who was the acting manager while Terry Francona began his three-game suspension, said the pitch to Soriano was down.

"He was able to get enough of it to lift it out," Mills said. "Wakefield did a good job."

But not good enough to put the Red Sox back in the win column.

"It is early," Wakefield said. "I don't see anybody in this clubhouse putting their heads down. It is still the end of April. We've got five months to play."