There was still hope in the frayed voices of the Fenway Faithful. Too much, perhaps. As Jacoby Ellsbury walked to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning, they cheered. As J.D. Drew lifted a fly out to right field, they cheered.
Hadn't they given up yet? Hadn't they all headed for the exits, the jubilation of the 10-run first inning turned into discouragement and regret, that ocean-deep lead turning to a stunning deficit with frightening quickness?
They hadn't. That's why they stood, a catch in their throats, as Dustin Pedroia shot a ball to left field, hitting high off the Green Monster. That's why they roared, as they sensed the tide turning, as Ellsbury rounded third, as he headed home, as he slid into the plate.
The score - improbably, impossibly - was tied.
The Red Sox had won this game, and lost this game, and won it again. Because, with the score knotted at 16 and David Ortiz having just been walked intentionally, Kevin Youkilis laced a pitch off the pillowy facade of the Sports Authority sign in left field for yet another three-run home run.
It bounced off the sheeting, lifting Youkilis and the Red Sox - and a crowd that had its boos turned to cheers - to a ridiculous 19-17 win against the Rangers on Tuesday night at Fenway Park in front of 38,004 dazed fans.
Not that it stopped there, of course. Even Jonathan Papelbon couldn't make it easy - though his appearance in this game would have been laughable at the start - allowing an extra run for the Rangers in the top of the ninth. But a liner to second base finally closed it out, relief flowing through the park far more than joy.
The total of 36 runs tied the American League record, one the Red Sox helped set themselves in 1950.
Outfielder Marlon Byrd finished 5-for-6 with 3 RBIs for the Rangers.
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