Before the game the Boston Red Sox said bye bye to Brandon Workman. Workman refused his demotion to Worcester and elected to become a free agent which brings his unsuccessful comeback to an end. Workman's tale has already been told last year when he was traded but he was signed as a free agent in May of this year. Unfortunately he couldn't rediscover his magic he had that made him one of the best relief pitchers in the game back in 2019. I don't think he'll be coming back a third time. In other news the Sox signed three of their draft picks, 5th rounder Nathan Hickey, 11th rounder Niko Kavadas and 17th rounder Luis Guerrero. Look for them in the rookie leagues down in Florida.
As for the game, say hello to the beast from the AL East, the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays completed a sweep of the Boston Red Sox that clearly showed who the better team was. The Rays outhit and outpitched the Sox in this series and they deserved to take over in the driver's seat. This time it was the Rays pitching and timely hitting that knocked out Nick Pivetta (8-5, 4.57 ERA) and the Sox. Shane McClanahan held the Sox bats to just 1 run in 6 innings and the Rays bullpen surrendered just one more the rest of the way. The Sox outhit the Rays 8 to 7 but a 2 run Brandon Lowe home run in the third set the tone for the rest of the game as the Rays swept the Sox out of Tampa 3-2 at Tropicana Field.
McClanahan got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez flied out to right to start. Rafael Devers lined a base hit to center but JD Martinez struck out swinging. Xander Bogaerts also went down hacking to end the inning. Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first and Brandon Lowe lined out to left to start. Austin Meadows went down swinging and Nelson Cruz popped up to first to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the second as Hunter Renfroe struck out swinging to start. Christian Vazquez also swung and missed for strike three but the ball got away from catcher Mike Zunino. Vazquez took first on the passed ball but Alex Verdugo whiffed as well. Kevin Plawecki popped up to first to end the inning. Pivetta cruised in the bottom of the second as Ji-Man Choi froze for strike three to start. Yandy Diaz grounded out to short and Wander Franco grounded out to third to end the inning.
Bobby Dalbec walked to begin the top of the third but Hernandez popped up to second. Devers lined out to left and Martinez took strike three to end the inning. The Rays struck first in the bottom of the third although Manny Margot struck out swinging to start. Kevin Kiermaier lined out to short but Zunino walked. Lowe then hit a home run all the way to El Savador to put the Rays up for good. Meadows hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning with the Rays up 2-0.
The Sox did try to fight back in the top of the fourth although Bogaerts flied out to right to start. Renfroe tried to start a rally with his 16th home run of the season to cut the lead and Vazquez got a base hit to right. Verdugo walked but Plawecki flied out to right. Dalbec went down hacking to end the inning but the Sox were on the board, down 2-1.
Pivetta recovered in the bottom of the fourth as Cruz went down swinging to start. Choi also struck out swinging and Diaz grounded out to third to end the inning.
Hernandez got a base hit to left to start the top of the fifth but Devers banged into a double play. Martinez flied out to right to end the inning. The Rays got insurance in the bottom of the fifth as Franco singled to center to start. A wild pitch moved Franco to second and sure enough, Margot singled him home to increase the lead. Margot swiped second but Kiermaier flied out to right. Zunino struck out swinging but Dr Quick Hook struck again as Sox manager Alex Cora lifted Pivetta after just 76 pitches and 4 2/3 innings. Once again the Sox were going to their bullpen early and Josh Taylor got Lowe to pop up to third to end the inning but the Rays were up 3-1 and Pivetta was gone early.
The Sox failed to respond in the top of the sixth as Bogaerts popped up to second to start. Renfroe grounded out to short and Vazquez grounded out to third to end the inning. Hansel Robles made his Red Sox debut in the bottom of the sixth and Meadows greeted him with a base hit to center. A wild pitch moved Meadows to second but Austin was thrown out at third on a grounder to short by Cruz. Choi banged into a double play to end the inning.
Drew Rasmussen was brought in to pitch the top of the seventh and Verdugo doubled to right to start. Plawecki flied out to right to move Verdugo to third but Dalbec struck out swinging again. Somehow Rasmussen uncorked a wild pitch to score Verdugo and Hernandez got a base hit to right. Devers walked to put the tying run at second but Martinez grounded into a force to end the inning with the Sox still down 3-2.
Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Diaz flied out to left to start. Franco singled to right and moved to second on the Margot grounder to short, then Kiermaier singled in the whole at short to put runners at the corners. Zunino hit one up the elevator shaft to end the inning.
The Sox tried to rally in the top of the eighth when Bogaerts walked to start. Renfroe popped up to first and Vazquez flied out to center to chase Rasmussen. Ryan Sherriff came in to strike out Verdugo swinging to end the inning. The Lock returned for the bottom of the eighth and Lowe grounded out to third to start. Meadows lined out to left but Cruz singled to right. Renfroe fired to second to nail Cruz trying to stretch a double to end the inning.
Brett Phillips took over in left with Matt Wisler now on the mound to close out the top of the ninth. Plawecki grounded out to second but Jarren Duran pinch hit for Dalbec....only to strike out swinging. Hernandez ripped a base hit to left to put the tying run on and Jonathan Arauz pinch ran for him. Devers got a base hit to center to put runners at the corners but Martinez flied out to right to end the game. The Rays had completed the sweep with a 3-2 win.
Jackass of the Night is JD Martinez. He was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts and left 6 men on base, including the tying run on third in the ninth inning.
The Good:
Kike Hernandez was 3 for 5.
Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with a walk.
Alex Verdugo was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.
Josh Taylor got the final out of the fifth inning.
Hansel Robles tossed a scoreless sixth inning.
Garrett Whitlock pitched two scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Kevin Plawecki was 0 for 4.
Jarren Duran struck out as a pinch hitter in the ninth.
Nick Pivetta took the loss by allowing 3 runs in just 4 2/3 innings.
The Ugly:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but drew a walk.
Hunter Renfroe was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but the one hit was a solo home run.
Christian Vazquez was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Bobby Dalbec was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Honorable Mention:
Jonathan Arauz pinch ran for Hernandez in the ninth inning.
Final Thoughts:
What more can be said at this point? The Sox haven't looked right since the All-Star break and the Rays just blew right past them to take control of the AL East. The Rays pitched better, hit better, ran better and fielded better in every game this series. JD Martinez and Bobby Dalbec left way too many men on base and even though the bullpen shut the Rays down, the fact the Sox still had to go to it in the fifth inning is going to wear them down. Robles and Austin Davis won't last long if they're going to pitch every single day like the A-Team had to up until recently. The Sox are banking on Chris Sale coming back and giving them deep starts and Kyle Schwarber to come off the Injured List and be their Steve Pearce moving forward. As it is, it looks like the Rays are the better team but there's still two months of baseball left to play. The loss dropped the Sox to 63-44, 1.5 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox are off tomorrow but return to action Tuesday night in Detroit against the mediocre Tigers. Garrett Richards (6-6) takes on Wily Peralta of Detroit this Tuesday night at 8:10 PM Eastern time at Comerica Park.
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