Normally taking 2 of 3 from the Tampa Bay Rays would be a good thing, but not this time. The Boston Red Sox took a huge step back in their quest to get back in the AL East race when they dropped a close game to the Rays. Charlie Morton held the Sox to just 2 runs in 7 innings. David Price (7-4, 3.66 ERA) was game but wasn't good enough. Rafael Devers put the Sox on top but Tommy Pham hit a moonshot off Price and Guillermo Heredia knocked in the go-ahead run in the fifth inning. The Rays shut out the Sox the rest of the way and the Sox now limp into the big series with the New York Yankees after dropping a 3-2 decision at Tropicana Field.
Morton got the ball in the top of the first and Mr. Mookie Betts flied out to right to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging and Xander Bogaerts lined out to left to end the inning. Price got the ball in the bottom of the first and Travis d'Arnaud popped up to second but Tommy Pham walked and stole second. Price froze Austin Meadows for strike three and got Avisail Garcia looking at strike three to end the inning.
JD Martinez tried to start a rally in the top of the second with a little roller to first for a "hit" but Andrew Benintendi hit one up the elevator shaft. Mitch Moreland flied out to center and Christian Vazquez grounded out to second to end the inning. Price cruised in the bottom of the second as Matt Duffy grounded out to short to start. Michael Brosseau flied out to right and Joey Wendle lined out to left to end the inning.
The Sox struck first in the top of the third when Brock "The Hitman" Holt blooped a single to left to start. Jackie Bradley Jr struck out swinging but Mr. Mookie doubled to left. Rafael Devers put the Sox on top with a roller into left to score both runners. Devers moved to second on the grounder by Bogaerts but Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 2-0.
Guillermo Heredia took strike three to start the bottom of the third and Mike Zunino popped up to short. d'Arnaud took strike three to end the inning.
Morton dominated from here on as Benintendi whiffed badly to start the top of the fourth. Moreland grounded out to second and Vazquez struck out swinging. The Rays started their comeback in the bottom of the fourth as Pham hit a home run to Cuba to start. Meadows struck out swinging, Garcia lined out to second and Duffy went down hacking to end the inning with the Rays down 2-1.
Holt took strike to start the top of the fifth and JBJ struck out swinging. Mr. Mookie flied out to right to end the inning. The Rays took command in the bottom of the fifth when Brosseau singled to center to start. Brosseau scored all the way from first on a base hit from Wendle and Wendle scored the go-ahead run on a double by Heredia. Zunino took strike three but d'Arnaud walked. Pham looked to have beat out a double play but Sox manager Alex Cora challenged the call. Sure enough, replays showed Pham was out to end the inning. The Rays had taken the lead 3-2.
Devers struck out swinging to open the top of the sixth and Bogaerts popped up to first. Martinez singled to center but Benintendi took strike three to end the inning. Price came back for one last inning in the bottom of the sixth and Meadows grounded back to him to start. Garcia grounded out to second and Duffy took strike three to end the inning. Price battled but left trailing as he allowed 3 runs in 6 innings.
The Sox failed to pick up Price in the top of the seventh as Moreland and Vazquez both took strike three to begin. Holt flied out to left to end the inning. Heath Hembree came in to throw up on himself in the bottom of the seventh as Brosseau flied out to left to begin. Wendle doubled to center but Heredia flied out to left. Ji-Man Choi pinch hit for Zunino and Hembree just intentionally walked him. That was it for Hembree as Colten Brewer came in to walk d'Arnaud to load the bases. Pham grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Rays pulled off some chicanery in the top of the eighth as Adam Kolarek took the mound for Tampa. Sam Travis pinch hit for JBJ and popped up to first. Rays manager Kevin Cash then brought in Chaz Roe to pitch to Mr. Mookie but put Kolarek at first for the one play. The gamble worked as Mr. Mookie flied out to left. Cash then sent Nate Lowe to play first and brought Kolarek back in to pitch, causing Sox manager Alex Cora to storm out of the dugout with a golf club and started whacking the ground with it demanding an explanation. Apparently Cash sacrificed the DH by having Roe take Choi's spot in the batting order and Kolarek replaced Meadows when he took first. When Lowe came in, he took Roe's spot at first and Kolarek would now be hitting third. Alex kicked the dirt and said the Sox will be playing the rest of the game under protest. When play resumed, Devers grounded out to first to end the inning.
Josh Taylor came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Willy Adames pinch hit for Kolarek, prompting Cora to come out of the dugout again. The umpires told him to beat it so Cora threw sunflower seeds at them. Adames took strike three when play resumed but Garcia walked. Duffy struck out swinging and Brosseau lined out to center to end the inning.
Emilio Pagan came in to pitch with Adames going to short, Wendle going to second and apparently Pagan took Brosseau's spot in the batting order to begin the top of the ninth. Cora just threw up his hands and said to hell with it. Bogaerts struck out swinging, Martinez went down hacking and Benintendi grounded out to short to end the game. The Rays had won it 3-2.
Jackass of the Night is Xander Bogaerts. He was 0 for 4 with a strikeout in the ninth in a one run game.
"Out of the way, Jackass" - Devers
The Good:
JD Martinez was 2 for 4.
Brock Holt was 1 for 3 with a run scored.
Colten Brewer retired the only man he faced.|
Josh Taylor pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Andrew Benintendi was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Christian Vazquez was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.
Sam Travis was 0 for 1.
The Ugly:
Mookie Betts was just 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 but drove in 2 runs.
David Price took the loss but only allowed 3 runs in 6 innings of work.
Heath Hembree left two inherited runners for Brewer in 2/3 of an inning.
Final Thoughts:
This game was a complete kick to the junk because not only did the Rays pull out every trick in the book to win this game, they actually DID win the game. Everything they did worked and the Sox were lifeless through most of it. Its only July but this is Boston's best chance to cut into the AL East lead, the Sox can't afford to be losing games to the New York Yankees and Rays at this point. It also would help if Sox GM Dave Dombrowski did something, ANYTHING to spark the team. With Eduardo Nunez gone, the Sox are banking on Sam Travis being the bat off the bench and so far he's failed at that. Andrew Cashner has failed to impress as a starter and Price just wasn't good enough today. The Sox better kick it into high gear as the trade deadline approaches because if they fall too far out of the race, they're not coming back. The loss dropped the Sox to 56-47, 11 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox now come home to face the Yankees in a crucial four game set. "Slick" Rick Porcello (8-7) looks to get the job done against Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees tomorrow night at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park
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