It was good news all around as the Boston Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of their NBA East Finals series and the Boston Red Sox once again defeated the Tampa Bay Rays. As sad as it sounds, the Red Sox have beaten the Rays in a series in Tampa for the first time in FIVE years. That's right, not since 2019 have the Sox beat Tampa in Tampa in at least 2 out of 3. How did they do it? Some longballs but also a little bit of small ball. The Rays jumped out to a 2-0 lead over Cooper Criswell but a clutch rbi single by Vaughn Grissom off Zack Little and a home run by Jarren Duran tied it. In the top of the eighth Wilyer Abreu knocked in Ceddanne Rafaela for the go-ahead run and Jarren Duran (with a little help from Rafael Devers) stole home for a big insurance run. Reese McGuire hit a home run in the ninth inning and Kenley Jansen locked it up to end it. The Sox have taken two of three in Tampa for the first time in five years with a 5-2 victory at Tropicana Field.
Littell got the ball in the top of the first inning and Jarren Duran grounded out to first to start. Wilyer Abreu struck out swinging and Tyler O'Neill popped up to short to end the inning. The Rays wasted no time getting to Criswell in the bottom of the first inning as Josh Lowe got a base hit to center to start. Randy Arozarena got a double to left but Brandon Lowe grounded out to short. Isaac Parades singled off the glove of Rafael Devers to score both Josh Lowe and Arozarena. Jonathan Aranda got a base hit off the glove of Criswell but was forced at second by Amed Rosario. Richie Palacios grounded out to second to end the inning with the Rays up 2-0.
The Sox got a run back in the top of the second as Rafael Devers got a base hit up the middle to start. Dominic Smith flied out to center and David Hamilton did the same, but Reese McGuire walked. Vaughn Grissom lashed a base hit to center to score Devers but Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 2-1.
Jose Siri got a single in the hole at short to start the bottom of the second but Alex Jackson grounded into a double play. Josh Lowe grounded out to second to end the inning.
Duran flied out to left to start the top of the third before Abreu took strike three. O'Neill struck out swinging to end the inning. Arozarena grounded out to short to begin the bottom of the third before Brandon Lowe lined out to center. Parades flied out to right to end the inning.
Devers popped up to third to begin the top of the fourth before Smith flied out to right. Hamilton took strike three to end the inning. Aranda grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fourth before Rosario struck out swinging. Palacios took strike three to end the inning.
McGuire flied out to left to begin the top of the fifth before Grissom took strike three. Rafaela flied out to left to end the inning. Siri took strike three to start the bottom of the fifth but Jackson drew a walk. Josh Lowe struck out swinging and Arozarena went down hacking to end the inning.
The Sox struck again in the top of the sixth when Duran belted his third home run of the season to tie the game. Abreu flied out to right and O'Neill struck out swinging again to chase Littell. Garrett Cleavinger came in to face Devers and Rafael grounded out to first to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.
Brandon Lowe struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the sixth but Parades got a base hit to left. That was it for Criswell who was yanked after just 79 pitches and 5 1/3 innings. Cam Booser came in to face pinch hitter Yandy Diaz (for Aranda). Diaz forced Parades at second before Rosario lined out to right to end the inning.
Romy Gonzalez pinch hit for Smith and flied out to center to start the top of the seventh. Garrett Cooper pinch hit for Hamilton and lined out to right. McGuire got a base hit to center to chase Cleavinger. Kevin Kelly came in to face Grissom and Vaughn struck out swinging to end the inning. Greg Weissert came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Palacios lined out to short to start. Siri struck out swinging and Ben Rortvedt pinch hit for Jackson only to take strike three to end the inning.
The Sox beat the Rays at their own game in the top of the eighth with Jason Adam now on the mound. Rafaela got a base hit to left then promptly stole second. Duran walked and Abreu got a base hit to center, not only scoring Rafaela but putting Jarren at third. Abreu then foolishly tried to steal second and was thrown out to seemingly kill the rally. O'Neill struck out swinging and Tampa ruined the chances of Devers making it seven homers in a row when he was intentionally walked. Devers took off for second and when Rortvedt threw down to second, Duran took off for home. Brandon Lowe fired home but it was too late, both men were safe including a steal of home by Duran. Gonzalez grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 4-2.
Chris Martin came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Josh Lowe struck out swinging. Arozarena grounded out to first and Brandon Lowe struck out swinging to end the inning.
Erasmo Ramirez came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Cooper took strike three to start. McGuire iced the game with his third home run of the season to increase the lead. Grissom and Rafaela both grounded out to second to end the inning with the Sox up 5-2.
Kenley Jansen came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth and Parades doubled to left to start. Parades moved to third on the fly ball to Abreu by Diaz, but Rosario grounded out to second. Palacios popped up to Devers to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-2.
Hero of The Night is Jarren Duran. His home run tied the game and his steal of home provided much needed insurance.
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The Good:
Rafael Devers was 1 for 3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored.
Reese McGuire was 2 for 3 with a walk and a home run.
Cooper Criswell allowed just 2 runs in 5 1/3 innings off 6 hits and a walk while striking out six.
Cam Booser got the final two outs of the sixth inning.
Greg Weissert got the win with a scoreless seventh inning.
Chris Martin pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Kenley Jansen earned his eighth save with a scoreless ninth inning.
The Bad:
Tyler O'Neill was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.
Dominic Smith was 0 for 2.
Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 2.
David Hamilton was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Garrett Cooper was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts and a crucial caught stealing but drove in the go-ahead run.
Vaughn Grissom was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but drove in a run.
Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but stole a base and scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
Getting over the hump in Tampa was big considering the Red Sox woes against the AL East going back to 2022. Not only that, they beat them at their own game. For 16 years now the Rays relied on small ball and timely hitting and that's what the Sox did. The double steal by Duran and Devers caught them off guard and even though Abreu got an earful from Sox manager Alex Cora for getting thrown out, he did knock in the go-ahead run. Criswell looked headed for the showers after the first inning but didn't give an inch the rest of the way. Grissom knocked in his first run in a while and hopefully he's almost back to full strength. The Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays on paper aren't that good this year, the Sox should be able to compete with both as the season goes on. The Sox could use another starter with news of Garrett Whitlock being out for the season but that seems highly unlikely unless Sox GM Chaim Bloom sacrifices prospects for a trade. Still, the win puts the Sox back over .500 at 25-24, 7.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East. The Sox go for the series sweep tomorrow night when Brayan Bello (4-2, 3.96 ERA) takes on Ryan Pepiot of Tampa. The game begins at 6:50 PM at Tropicana Field.
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