Cashner got the ball to start the top of the first and the Rays immediately tagged him. Ji-Man Choi doubled off the Monster but Tommy Pham grounded out to short. Choi moved to third on the Austin Meadows grounder to second and Matt Duffy hit a grounder to Cashner who fired home...OUT! But wait! Rays manager Kevin Cash challenged that Choi was safe and the call was overturned. Kevin Kiermaier grounded out to first to end the inning with the Rays ahead 1-0.
The Sox answered in the bottom of the first against Rays starter Brendan McKay as Mr. Mookie Betts singled to right to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging but Xander Bogaerts pounded his 24th home run of the season to give the Sox the lead. JD Martinez walked but Andrew Benintendi flied out to center. Sam Travis struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-1.
The Rays shelled Cashner in the top of the second inning as Jesus Aguilar walked to start. Eric Sogard singled to right and Mike Zunino walked to load the bases. Willy Adames struck out swining but Choi walked to tie the game and a passed ball scored Sogard with the go-ahead run. Pham doubled home Zunino but Choi was thrown out at home. Meadows grounded out to first to end the inning with the Rays on top 4-2.
The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the second as Mitch Moreland struck out swinging to start. Michael Chavis struck out looking and Sandy Leon lined out to short to end the inning.
Cashner cruised in the top of the third as Duffy flied out to right to start. Keirmaier popped up to short and Aguilar popped up to first to end the inning. The Sox did nothing in the bottom of the third as Mr. Mookie grounded out to short to start. Devers grounded out to second but Bogaerts singled to right. Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning.
Sogard lined out to short to start the top of the fourth but Zunino singled to short. Adames banged into a double play to end the inning. The Sox blew a rally in the bottom of the fourth as Benintendi doubled to right to start. Travis singled Andrew to third but Moreland struck out swinging. Chavis lined out to third to end the inning.
Choi walked to start the top of the fifth but Pham popped up to second. Meadows moved Choi to second with a grounder to the mound and Meadows also grounded to the mound to end the inning. The Sox got another run back in the bottom of the fifth as Mr. Mookie flied out to center to start. Devers grounded out to first but Bogaerts crushed his second homer of the game to cut the lead. Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 4-3.
The Rays finally chased Cashner in the top of the sixth although Kiermaier lined out to center to start. Aguilar singled to left and moved to third on the Sogard double. Zunino walked to load the bases and Adames beat out a double play ball to score Aguilar. That was it for Cashner who got shelled for 6 runs in just 5 2/3 innings. Darwinzon Hernandez came in to pour gas on the fire as a wild pitch scored Sogard and another wild pitch walked Choi. Pham doubled home Adames to ice the game and Meadows struck out swinging to end the inning with the Rays ahead 7-3.
Colten Brewer came in for the top of the seventh and Duffy lined out to short to start. Kiermaier lined out to second but Aguilar walked. Sogard struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the seventh although Leon struck out swinging to start. Mr. Mookie launched his 19th home run of the year to cut the lead but Devers grounded out to short. Bogaerts hit a ground rule double to right but Martinez struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 7-4.
Betts hits one out
The hits kept coming in the top of the eighth as Zunino hit a home run to Bristol, New Hampshire to increase the lead. Adames singled to left but Choi banged into a double play. Pham grounded out to third to end the inning with the Rays up 8-4.
Zunino hits one out
Nick Anderson came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Benintendi doubled to left to start. Travis flied out to center to move Andrew to third but Moreland struck out swinging. Chavis struck out swinging to end the inning.
Heath Hembree came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Meadows hit a home run to Brazil to increase the lead. Duffy grounded out to third and Kiemaier struck out swinging but Aguilar singled to left. Sogard walked but Zunino flied out to left to end the inning with the Rays up 9-4.
Emilio Pagan put the Sox out of their misery in the bottom of the ninth as Leon flied out to left to start. Mr. Mookie struck out swinging and Devers flied out to left to end the games. The Rays had won it 9-4.
Jackass of the Night is Andrew Cashner. He got hammered for 7 runs in 5 2/3 innings to take the loss.
The Good:
Mookie Betts was 2 for 5 with a home run and 2 runs scored.
Xander Bogaerts was 4 for 4 with 3 rbis and 2 home runs.
Andrew Benintendi was 3 for 4.
The Bad:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 5 with a strikeout.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Michael Chavis was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Sandy Leon was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Darwinzon Hernandez allowed 2 inherited runners to score in just 1/3 of an inning.
Heath Hembree allowed a run in the top of the ninth.
The Ugly:
JD Martinez was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but walked.
Sam Travis was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Colten Brewer allowed a run in 2 innings.
Final Thoughts:
The season is about go south real fast if things keep up like this. Sox GM Dave Dombrowski left the Red Sox out to dry and the Rays just steamrolled them. The Rays picked up Sogard and others for a stretch run and they smacked the Sox into submission in this three game sweep. Literally one week ago the Sox had won 5 out of 7 games against the Rays and New York Yankees to give the fans hope and between the Rays and Dombrowski, that hope is gone. Cashner is a titanic bust and the Rays look hungrier and better than the Sox. Its become apparent once you get a lead on Boston after 5 innings, the game is pretty much over. Mostly due to the pitching is so bad a one run game can turn into 5 in a hurry. Is a shame things are crashing down because of how good they looked last week. The Sox have one last chance to keep in the race because they face the Yankees again next. The Sox now travel to New York for a crucial four game set in New York eerily similar to the early August series last year just with roles reversed. The loss dropped the Sox to 59-51, 10.5 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow night the Sox look to rebound in the Bronx when Eduardo Rodriguez (13-4) looks to be the stopper against Sox killer James Paxton of the Yankees. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Yankee Stadium.
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