Before the game the Boston Red Sox made some roster moves. New pitchers Hansel Robles and Austin Davis were activated as Connor Wong was sent back to Worcester while Darwinzon Hernandez was placed on the Injured List with a right oblique strain. Let's see how the new guys do.
As for the game, just like in 2013 the Tampa Bay Rays took over first place at the end of July with a surge. The Rays made it two in a row against the Red Sox by once again pounding the Sox inept pitching. The Sox bolted out to a 3-0 lead after the top of the first but the Rays took just three innings to tie the game and used a late inning rally to put the game away. Wander Franco and the surprising Francisco Mejia were the big contributors as the Rays handed Nathan Eovaldi (9-6, 3.71 ERA) his lunch by tagging him for 6 runs in 5 1/3 innings. Adam Ottavino got rocked in the eighth inning and the Rays took over first place with a 9-5 victory at Tropicana Field.
The Sox did manage to rally in the top of the first against Tampa starter Ryan Yarbrough. Kike Hernandez grounded out to third to start but Rafael Devers walked. A wild pitch moved Devers to second and he scored on the JD Martinez base hit to left. Xander Bogaerts smashed his 16th home run of the year to increase the lead but Hunter Renfroe popped up to short. Alex Verdugo struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.
The Rays got the runs right back against Eovaldi in the bottom of the first as Brandon Lowe doubled to center and Ji-Man Choi hit a home run to Croatia to cut the lead just like that. Eovaldi got mad and struck out Nelson Cruz, Austin Meadows and Randy Arozarena swinging to end the inning but the Rays were back in it 3-2.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the second as Christian Vazquez grounded out to short to start. Bobby Dalbec also grounded out to short and Jonathan Arauz lined out to second to end the inning. Eovaldi settled down in the bottom of the second as Joey Wendle struck out swinging to start. Wander Franco and Kevin Kiermaier both grounded out to short to end the inning.
Hernandez lined out to center to start the top of the third before Devers flied out to right. Martinez also flied out to right to end the inning. Naturally the Rays tied it in the bottom of the third although Francisco Mejia flied out to left to start. Lowe hit a routine grounder to second but Arauz dove on top of the ball and swam on it for an error. Choi singled to right and Cruz hit a double play ball to Arauz.
...under his glove for another error that scored Lowe to tie the game. Meadows flied out to center and Arozarena popped up to first to end the inning with the game tied 3-3.
Bogaerts flied out to center to start the top of the fourth before Renfroe struck out swinging. Verdugo grounded out to first to end the inning. The Rays took command in the bottom of the fourth as Wendle singled to right to start. Franco lined out to short and Kiermaier struck out swinging but Mejia hit a home run all the way to Montana to put Tampa on top. Lowe grounded out to first to end the inning with the Rays ahead 5-3.
The Sox fought back in the top of the fifth as Vazquez singled to right to begin. Dalbec crushed his 11th home run of the season to tie the game but Arauz struck out swinging. Hernandez flied out to center and Devers struck out swinging to end the inning with the game tied 5-5.
Eovaldi kept the game tied in the bottom of the fifth as Choi lined out to center to start. Cruz grounded back to the mound and Meadows grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox blew a rally big time in the top of the sixth against Andrew Kittredge as Martinez struck out swinging to start. Bogaerts walked, Renfroe doubled Xander to third and Verdugo was intentionally walked to load the bases. Naturally Vazquez whiffed on a full count and Dalbec went down hacking to end the inning. The Rays pounced on the Sox after the blown rally in the bottom of the sixth although Arozarena took strike three to start. Wendle walked and Franco tripled home Wendle to chase Eovaldi from the game. Nathan got rocked for 6 runs in just 5 1/3 innings and left trailing. Josh Taylor struck out Kiermaier swinging and got Mejia to ground out to short to end the inning with the Rays up 6-5.
Jeffrey Springs came in to pitch the top of the seventh and the Sox blew another rally. Arauz struck out swinging but Hernandez got a base hit to left. Devers caught Wendle asleep with a bunt single and that was it for Springs. Matt Wisler came in and both runners moved over on the Martinez grounder to first before Bogaerts walked to load the bases. With the game on the line....Renfroe struck out swinging to end the inning. Lowe struck out swinging to start the bottom of the seventh before Choi also went down hacking. That was it for Taylor as Adam Ottavino came in to get Cruz looking to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the eighth as Verdugo grounded out to short to start. Vazquez flied out to left and Dalbec grounded out to third to end the inning. The Rays iced it in the bottom of the eighth as Meadows doubled to right to begin. Brett Phillips ran for Meadows and Arozarena was hit by a pitch. Wendle went down swinging but Franco got a base hit to right to score Phillips. That was it for Ottavino as Austin Davis made his Red Sox debut by uncorking a wild pitch to move the runners over. Kiermaier struck out swinging but Mejia got a base hit to center to score both Arozarena and Franco to ice the game. Lowe walked but Choi struck out swinging to end the inning with the Rays ahead 9-5.
Old friend Chris Mazza came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Jarren Duran pinch hit for Arauz only to take strike three. Hernandez hit a ground ball to the mound and Mazza threw it away for an error to advance Kike to second. Hernandez moved to third on defensive indifference and Devers took strike three. Martinez grounded out to short to end the game. The Rays had taken first place with a 9-5 victory.
Jackass of the Night is Adam Ottavino. He was charged with 3 runs to put the game on ice
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 2 for 5.
Xander Bogaerts was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and a two run home run.
Josh Taylor tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Jonathan Arauz was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts and 2 errors.
Jarren Duran struck out as a pinch hitter.
Nathan Eovaldi got rocked for 6 runs in just 5 1/3 innings to take the loss.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but scored a run.
JD Martinez was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but drove in a run and scored a run.
Hunter Renfroe was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Bobby Dalbec was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but the one hit was a 2 run homer.
Austin Davis allowed two inherited runners to score but none of his own in 2/3 of an inning.
Final Thoughts:
The Sox deserved to fall out of first place the way they played tonight. Arauz playing hot potato with the ball, Eovaldi getting hammered and the bullpen imploding all hurts but the key was the lack of clutch hitting. Time and time again the Sox were in position for the knockout blow and they failed every time. The Sox can get guys on but driving them in is another story. The Rays, on the other hand, can't miss when they desperately need it. Wander Franco is beating the Sox almost by himself in this series and he's making Bobby Dalbec look like the now departed Michael Chavis in Rookie of The Year voting. The Sox have two months left to right the ship but as of now, the Rays look like the better team. They pitch better, they hit in the clutch more and their bullpen doesn't cough up the game like the SOx have lately. All in all it was a bad loss but there is some good news coming. Chris Sale looked good in front of a packed, standing room only crowd in Worcester during his rebab start with the WooSox and he'll be activated pretty soon. If he can pitch as well as he did in 2017-18 the Sox may have a chance to topple the Rays in the AL East race when all is said and done. As it is, the Sox finish the month of July with a record of 63-43, 0.5 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to avoid a sweep and get back in first tomorrow night when Nick Pivetta (8-4) takes on Shane McClanahan of the Rays. The game begins at 7:05 PM at Tropicana Field.
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