Sox Sweep Rays, Win 13 Straight (7/19/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox officially released Danny Coulombe. Just like Tommy Kahnle, he didn't have it anymore. The Red Sox have been white hot lately and a lot of that was due to their shutdown bullpen. Coulombe wasn't getting it done and rumors are Patrick Sandoval is going to the bullpen when Ranger Suarez comes back. Oh well.

                                                                      OUT

As for the game, how about the white hot Boston Red Sox. The Sox took the first place Tampa Bay Rays and chewed them up & spat them out in four straight games. Today Sonny Gray (12-1, 2.48 ERA) continued his march toward the AL Cy Young award by tossing 6 innings and holding the Rays to 1 run. He wasn't as sharp but he got the outs when he had to. Meanwhile the Sox got to Rays ace Shane McClanahan for 6 runs. The Sox scored 3 runs in the third inning without getting a hit and Willson Contreras hit a 2 run jack to put it out of reach. The trio of Greg Weissert, Jovani Moran and Ryan Watson slammed the door and the Sox had won 13 straight including a 4 game sweep of the Rays 6-1 at Fenway Park.

                                                           Ryan Fox approves of the win

Gray got the ball in the top of the first inning and Yandy Diaz led off by grounding out to first. Jonathan Aranda walked and Junior Caminero singled in the hole at third. Cedric Mullins struck out swinging and Jarren Duran nearly ran into Ceddanne Rafaela on a pop up to center by Chandler Simpson to end the inning. McClanahan got the ball in the bottom of the first and Jahmai Jones led off with a base hit to left. Ceddanne Rafaela bunted foul, then popped up to first and Wilyer Abreu flied out to center.  Willson Contreras flied out to center as well to end the inning.

The Rays struck first in the top of the second as Victor Mesa Jr hit a ball into the centerfield triangle that Rafaela had trouble picking it up. Mesa tried for the home run and the throw beat him....but Connor Wong dropped the ball to put the Rays on top. Richie Palacios got a base hit to center and they had him picked off...but Contreras dropped the ball. It looked like Palacios was thrown out at second trying to steal but the Rays challenged. Replays showed Romy Gonzalez missed the tag and Taylor Walls walked. Hunter Feduccia took strike three, Diaz flied out to right and Aranda flied out to left to end the inning with the Rays up 1-0.

                                                            Mesa scores...barely

The Sox answered in the bottom of the second as Caleb Durbin ripped a base hit to left to start. Romy Gonzalez struck out swinging but Durbin took off for second. The throw by Feduccia got away and Durbin took third. Andruw Monasterio beat out a double to left to score Durbin and Jarren Duran walked. Duran was thrown out at second on a double steal but Monasterio made it to third. Wong grounded out to third to end the inning with the game tied 1-1.

                                                        Sox tie it up

Caminero struck out swinging to start the top of the third but Mullins walked. Simpson doubled to right but Mesa Jr took strike three. Palacios flied out to left to end the inning. Jones walked to start the bottom of the third Rafaela flied out to center. Abreu was hit with a pitch and Contreras walked to load the bases. Feduccia allowed a passed ball to score Jones and Durbin hit a grounder to third. Caminero hit Abreu with the throw to score him and the runners moved over. Gonzalez grounded out to second but Contreras scored with another run. Monasterio flied out to center to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-1.

                                                            Sox take the lead

Walls lined out to short to start the top of the fourth and Feduccia grounded out to first. Diaz struck out swinging to end the inning. Duran grounded out to short to start the bottom of the fourth and Wong struck out swinging. Jones struck out swinging to end the inning.

Aranda got a base hit to right to start the top of the fifth but was forced at second by Caminero. Mullins grounded back to the mound to move Caminero to second and Simpson grounded out to first to end the inning. Rafaela beat out a grounder to short to start the bottom of the fifth but Abreu flied out to left. Contreras pounded his 22nd homer of the year to dead center to increase the lead but Durbin flied out to center. Gonzalez flied out to the centerfield warning track to end the inning with the Sox ahead 6-1.

                                                      Contreras hits another one out

Gray returned for one final inning in the top of the sixth and Mesa Jr lined out to right to start. Palacios walked but Walls grounded into a double play to end the inning. Gray wasn't the sharpest but hung in there to allow just 1 run in 6 innings off 5 hits and 4 walks.

                                                           Gray battled in this one

Craig Kimbrel came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Monasterio struck out swinging to start. Duran grounded out to short and Wong struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Greg Weissert came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Feduccia doubled to center to start. Diaz grounded out to second to move Hunter to third, but Aranda took strike three. Caminero lined out to left to end the inning. Chris Roycroft came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Jones grounded out to third to start. Rafaela got a base hit to right but Abreu lined out to center. Contreras lined out to third to end the inning.

Jovani Moran came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Mullins grounded out to short to start. Simpson got a base hit in the hole at second then move to second on the grounder to third by Mesa. Palacios grounded out to second to end the inning. Durbin grounded out to second to start the bottom of the eighth and Gonzalez grounded out to short. Monasterio walked and Duran grounded back to the mound to end the inning.

Ryan Watson came in to pitch the top of the ninth and Walls got a base hit to center to start. Feduccia walked but Diaz struck out swinging. Aranda struck out swinging and Caminero lined out to left to end the game. The Sox had won it 6-1.

                                                             Sox win

Hero of The Night is Willson Contreras. His two run home run essentially iced the game.

                                                           Hero Contreras

The Good:

Jahmai Jones was 1 for 3 with a walk and a run scored.

Ceddanne Rafaela was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Andruw Monasterio was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.

Sonny Gray got the win with 6 innings of run 1 ball allowing 5 hits and 4 walks.

Greg Weissert pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Jovani Moran pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Ryan Watson pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Connor Wong was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

The Ugly:

Wilyer Abreu was 0 for 3 but scored a run.

Caleb Durbin was just 1 for 4 but stole a base, drove in a run and scored a run.

Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 but walked.

Final Thoughts:

On June 24 the Red Sox got embarrassed by the Colorado Rockies 2 out of 3 to drop to 14 games out and 14 games under .500. The Sox have lost 2 games since, winning 18 out of 20 and 13 straight to get back into the race. The Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees also lost today so everything is coming up Red Sox. Gray didn't have his best stuff today but he got the outs he needed to win this one. Contreras is unquestionably the team leader and its fired the team up any time there's a big hit. He got the big two run homer to ice it in this one. They scored three runs without getting a hit and that's the kind of game the Rays were known for with their speed. Yandy Diaz getting held in check was the main reason the Sox won this series. The Rays go to Toronto next so the Jays are going to be facing an angry, due Diaz. Good luck with that. All in all this win streak brought hope back, the fans back and good spirits back. It'll be a shame when the streak ends but if the Sox can win consistently in the next two months, they'll be right in the thick of things by the end. Getting a healthy Garrett Crochet and Ranger Suarez back would make Boston very deadly come October. Have to make it there first with 64 games left on the schedule. The win improved the Sox to 50-48, 6 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to continue the momentum against the equally hot Baltimore Orioles who have won 7 in a row in the next series. Tomorrow night Shane Baz goes for Baltimore against Payton Tolle (5-6, 3.11 ERA) of Boston at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Sox Rally Past Rays for 12th Straight Win (7/18/26)

In 1988 the Boston Red Sox won 12 straight games after Joe Morgan was named interim manger and 22 straight at Fenway Park. Well this year its Tracy's Turnaround as the Boston Red Sox went from 14 games out, last place and a 32-46 record to winning 17 out of 19, 12 straight and are just 7 games behind first place. The Sox made it three straight wins against the first place Tampa Bay Rays in one of the most exciting games of the year. The Rays jumped out to a 2-0 lead against Patrick Sandoval and the Red Sox only for Jahmai Jones to get his first Fenway Park hit in the form of a game tying 2 run home run. A Wilyer Abreu home run put Boston ahead but the Rays rallied for 3 runs against Sandoval and 1 more against Ryan Watson (1-0, 4.62 ERA) to give the Rays a 6-3 lead. The Sox were 0-43 when trailing by 3 runs but tonight the Sox rallied for 4 runs in the bottom of the seventh with Abreu hitting the 2 run killshot. Garrett Whitlock and Aroldis Chapman slammed the door and the Sox had beaten the Rays 7-6 at Fenway Park.

                                                      Dallas Rea approves of the win

Sandoval got the ball in the top of the first inning after an hour long rain delay and Yandy Diaz walked to start. Jonny DeLuca struck out swinging and Junior Caminero grounded into a double play to end the inning. Ian Seymour got the ball in the bottom of the first inning and Anthony Seigler struck out swinging to start. Ceddanne Rafaela grounded out to first but Wilyer Abreu walked. Willson Contreras flied out to center to end the inning.

The Rays struck first in the top of the second as Ryan Vilade doubled to left to start. Chandler SImpson hit a routine grounder to Seigler....thrown away for an error to allow Vilade to score. Ben Williamson struck out swinging and Victor Mesa Jr flied out to right, but Nick Fortes got a base hit to right to score Simpson. Richie Palacios grounded back to the mound to end the inning with the Rays up 2-0.

                                                         Rays strike first

The Sox answered in the bottom of the second as Romy Gonzalez grounded out to second to start. Caleb Durbin took strike three but Andruw Monasterio used ABS to change strike three to ball four. Jahmai Jones got his first hit with the Red Sox when he smashed his third home run of the season to tie game. Carlos Narvaez took strike to end the inning with the game tied 2-2.

                                                          Welcome to Boston

Diaz popped up to second to start the top of the third and Rafaela made a great diving catch to rob DeLuca of a triple. Caminero singled to right but Vilade struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox surged ahead in the bottom of the third as Seigler took strike three to start. Rafaela popped up to short but Abreu clocked his 14th home run of the season to put Boston ahead.

                                                              Abreu watches it go

The Rays struck back in the top of the fourth as Simpson doubled to center to start. Narvaez threw the ball away on a steal attempt and Simpson came home to tie the game on an error. Williamson grounded out to short but Mesa hit a home run into the Charles River to put Tampa ahead. Fortes struck out swinging but Palacios doubled to left. A passed ball moved Palacios to third and Richie scored on the Diaz base hit to left. DeLuca doubled to center but Diaz was thrown out at home to end the inning with the Rays up 5-3. 

                                                  Rays take command

Kevin Kelly came in to pitch the bottom of the fourth and Gonzalez was hit with a pitch to start. Durbin struck out swinging but Gonzalez stole third....only to get up from the slide and keep going where he was thrown out at third. That proved costly as Monasterio hit a ground rule double down the right field line but Jarren Duran pinch hit for Jones. Duran popped up to third to end the inning.

Sandoval returned for one final inning in the top of the fifth and Caminero grounded out to third to start. Vilade did the same and Simpson took strike three to end the inning. Sandoval got rocked for 5 runs in 5 innings off 9 hits and a walk.

                                                       He wasn't good enough

Narvaez struck out swinging to start the bottom of the fifth and Seigler grounded out to first. Rafaela lined out to right to end the inning.

Ryan Watson came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Williamson grounded out to first to start. Mesa Jr flied out to left and Fortes struck out swinging to end the inning. Casey Legumina came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Abreu flied out to left to start. Contreras was hit with a pitch but Gonzalez flied out to right. Durbin also flied out to right to end the inning.

The Rays struck again in the top of the seventh as Palacios struck out swinging to start. Diaz grounded out to short but DeLuca hit a home run all the way to Skyrim to increase the lead. Caminero grounded out to third to end the inning with the Rays up 6-3.

                                                                The game looked over

Suddenly the Sox exploded in the bottom of the seventh as Monasterio doubled to left to start. Cole Sulser came in to pitch and Vilade threw a grounder away by Duran for an error to move Andruw to third. Masataka Yoshida pinch hit for Narvaez and grounded out to short to score Monasterio. Seigler struck out swinging but Rafaela doubled to center to score Duran. Garrett Cleavinger came in to pitch to Abreu and Wilyer responded by smashing his 15th home run of the season to put Boston ahead. Contreras walked but Gonzalez flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox ahead 7-6.

                                                          Sox jump in front

Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the top of the eighth with Connor Wong behind the plate. Jonathan Aranda pinch hit for Vilade and flied out to left to start. Simpson lined out to left and Williamson grounded out to short to end the inning. Cam Booser came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Durbin popped up to first to start. Monasterio lined out to center and Duran struck out swinging to end the inning.

Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the top of the ninth and Mesa Jr popped up to third to start. Fortes grounded out to third but Palacios walked. Taylor Walls ran for Palacios and immediately stole second. Diaz walked and Cedric Mullins ran for him. Both runners pulled off a double steal but DeLuca grounded out to short to end the game. The Sox had won their 12th straight game, 7-6 at Fenway Park.

                                                              Sox win

Hero of The Night is Wilyer Abreu. He launched two home runs and the second put the Sox up for good.

                                                               Abreu Hero

The Good:

Willson Contreras was hit with a pitch and walked in four plate appearances.

Andruw Monasterio was 2 for 3 with a walk and 2 runs scored.

Jahmai Jones hit a 2 run home run in his only at bat.

Masataka Yoshida drove in a run in his only at-bat.

Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Aroldis Chapman earned his 21st save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Anthony Seigler was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts and an error.

Caleb Durbin was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.

Carlos Narvaez was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts and an error.

Patrick Sandoval allowed 5 runs in 5 innings off 9 hits and a walk.

The Ugly:

Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 but drove in a run and scored a run.

Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 3 but was hit with a pitch and stole a base.

Jarren Duran was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Ryan Watson allowed a run but earned the win in 2 innings of work.

Honorable Mention:

Connor Wong caught the top of the ninth.

Final Thoughts:

Are you a believer now? The last two weeks the Sox have been winning games in the fashion they weren't the first two months of the season. Yesterday Lou Merloni said a 2-0 lead for Tampa meant the game was over in April and May and the last two days the Sox rallied to win. This one was even bigger as the Sox hadn't won a game all year when trailing by three and they did it. The offense has finally come around even if today was simply the Wilyer Abreu & Andruw Monasterio show. Patrick Sandoval disappointed but he's still rusty after not pitching since 2024. If the Sox can survive his starts until he gets his wind back....or until Ranger Suarez and Connelly Early come back, they'll be in good shape. Jones showed why the Sox picked him up when he hit his home run off a lefty. Better late than never to replace Rob Refsnyder. Speaking of better late than never, Wilyer Abreu turned into 1967 Carl Yastrzemski the past few days and that's not going to last, but its been fun to watch. The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles both won so the Sox didn't gain any ground on them, but they're already ahead of them anyway. This has been a hell of a run to get back in contention and if the Sox can get good pitching with even just this mediocre offense, they'll be contenders in the second half of the season. The win improved the Sox to 49-48, 7 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look for the series sweep and 13th win in a row tomorrow afternoon when Sonny Gray (11-1, 2.54 ERA) takes on Tampa's ace Shane McClanahan. The game begins at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park.

Abreu, Sox Drop Rays For 11th Straight Win (7/17/26)

Before the game the Boston Red Sox activated Willson Contreras from the suspended list. Hopefully he can continue to hit home runs the way he was hitting before he went nuts against Washington.

                                                                    IN

As for the game, the red hot Boston Red Sox swept both games of today's doubleheader against the first place Tampa Bay Rays. Eduardo Rivera allowed 3 runs to the Rays including a Junior Caminero home run and left after just 2 1/3 innings. The Boston bullpen tossed the next 6 2/3 innings while allowing no runs to the Rays. Meanwhile the Sox bats got to Mason Englert with a two run home run by Wilyer Abreu and a bomb by Willson Contreras to put the Sox on top. After Caminero's home run, Abreu went yard again to put the Sox up for good. The Sox got another run for insurance as the bullpen locked it down. Aroldis Chapman got a huge ovation in the ninth inning as the Sox beat the Rays 5-3 at Fenway Park.

                                                Eleven approves of the eleventh in a row

Rivera got the ball in the top of the first inning and Yandy Diaz flied out to right to start. Jonathan Aranda grounded out to second but Junior Caminero drilled a base hit to right. Ryan Vilade walked on 10 pitches and Cedric Mullins walked on nine to load the bases. Naturally Jonny DeLuca lined a base hit to left and both Diaz and Aranda scored. The throw home hit Diaz so both remaining runners moved over. Ben Williamson grounded out to short to end the inning with the Rays up 2-0.

                                                           Rays strike first

Englert got the ball in the bottom of the first and Anthony Seigler popped up to third to start. Ceddanne Rafaela doubled to the left field wall and Wilyer Abreu hit his 12th home run over the bullpen to tie the game. The returning Willson Contreras then pounded his 21st home run of the season off the Monster Seats to put the Sox on top. Masataka Yoshida grounded out to second but Caleb Durbin got a base hit to left. Jarren Duran struck out swinging to en the inning with the Sox ahead 3-2.

                                                              Contreras was fired up

Hunter Feduccia struck out swinging to open the top of the second and Taylor Walls did the same. Diaz grounded out to third to end the inning. Connor Wong grounded out to third to start the bottom of the third but Tsung-Che Cheng blooped a base hit to center. Seigler hit a double play ball to second but Walls threw the ball away on the relay, allowing Seigler to reach first. Rafaela hit a bullet to Aranda to end the inning.

Aranda took strike three to start the top of the third but Caminero hit a home run all the way to New York to tie the game. That was it for Rivera who got clobbered for 3 runs in 2 1/3 innings off 3 hits and 2 walks. Greg Weissert came in and Vilade hit a bullet to Cheng for the second out. Mullins caught Weissert asleep with a bunt single but DeLuca flied out to right to end the inning.

                                                         Not the best opener

The Sox took the lead back when Abreu hit his second home run of the game to start the bottom of the third. Contreras struck out swinging and Yoshida grounded out to first, but Durbin beat out a bunt single down the first base line. Durbin was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning with the Sox ahead 4-3.

                                                             Sox are back on top

Naturally Williamson beat out a roller to second to start the top of the fourth to chase Weissert. Jovani Moran came in to pitch and Williamson foolishly took off for second....on a popped up bunt to Moran by Fedducia. Williamson was doubled off first but Walls ate up Durbin a grounder to third for an error. Diaz forced Walls at second to end the inning. Duran grounded out to second to start the bottom of the fourth and Wong grounded out to third. Cheng walked and Seigler doubled into the right field corner to score Tsung, increasing the lead. Rafaela struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 5-3.

Aranda lined out to left to start the top of the fifth and Caminero flied out to center. Vilade lined out to short to end the inning. Abreu lined out to short to start the bottom of the fifth and Contreras struck out swinging. Yoshida flied out to the centerfield wall to end the inning.

Tyron "El Lanzallamas" Guerrero came in to pitch the top of the sixth and blew away Mullins on a 102 moh fastball to start. DeLuca split the D on a line drive past both Seigler & Cheng, but was forced at second by Williamson. Fedducia flied out to center to end the inning. Old pal Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Durbin grounded out to short to start. Duran popped up to short but Wong walked. Cheng struck out swinging to end the inning. 

Garrett "The Lock" Whitlock came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Rafaela failed to come up with a line drive by Walls to start. Diaz grounded into a double play and Aranda struck out swinging to end the inning. Cole Susler came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and Seigler walked to start. Rafaela lined out to right, Abreu popped up to third and Contreras took strike three to end the inning.

Justin "Incinerator" Slaten came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Caminero broke two bats in a row before grounding out to second to begin. Vilade grounded out to second and Mullins struck out swinging to end the inning. Old pal Cam Booser came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Jahmai Jones pinch hit for Duran to start. Jones made his Sox debut by grounding out to first and Durbin grounded out to third. Duran lined out to left to end the inning.

Aroldis Chapman came in to close out the top of the ninth and DeLuca struck out swinging to start. Williamson popped up to first. Fortes struck out swinging to end the game. The Sox had won it 5-3.

                                                               Sox win

Hero of The Night is Wilyer Abreu. He hit two home runs and his second put the Sox up for good.

                                                         Hero Abreu

The Good:

Anthony Seigler was 1 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.

Caleb Durbin was 2 for 4.

Tsung-Che Cheng was 1 for 2 with a walk and a run scored.

Greg Weissert got the final two outs of the third inning to earn the win.

Jovani Moran tossed 2 scoreless innings.

Tyron Guerrero tossed a scoreless inning.

Garrett Whitlock pitched a scoreless seventh inning.

Justin Slaten pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

Aroldis Chapman earned his 20th save with a scoreless ninth inning.

The Bad:

Masataka Yoshida was 0 for 3.

Jahmai Jones was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Jarren Duran was 0 for with a strikeout and an error.

Eduardo Rivera allowed 3 runs in 2 1/3 innings.

The Ugly:

Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.

Willson Contreras was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but the one hit was a home run.

Connor Wong was 0 for 2 but walked.

Final Thoughts:

Eleven wins in a row, a doubleheader sweep and 16-2 in their last 18 games. The Sox are absolutely scorching and the fans got very LOUD in the ninth on the final strikeout. The fans are starting to believe again and more importantly, the team is as well. The all-star break didn't slow them down and this was a complete team effort. Alec Gamboa saving the bullpen in Game 1 was the key to Game 2. The Sox made it a bullpen game and they didn't allow a run after Rivera left the game. The offense picked it up again with 3 big home runs from Abreu & Contreras combined. Even guys like Seigler, Cheng and Durbin just getting base hits when guys in their positions, Durbin himself, weren't doing that 2 months ago. Sox analyst Lou Merloni said during the broadcast that 2 months ago when the Sox were down 2-0 the game was over and now its a minor inconvenience. Even better news, the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays lost so the Sox picked up 1.5 games on both of them. The Sox were 14 games under .500 and 14 games out and now they're only 8 back of the Rays and 5.5 behind New York. The Sox offense fixed itself although they are still a bat away from October success. If the Sox get some of their injured guys back healthy, with the American League as mediocre as it is, they have as good as chance as any. Taking care of business against the Rays and Cleveland Guardians coming out of the break will be key to the stretch run. All in all this was a fun day and hopefully they can keep the momentum going. The win improves the Sox to 48-48, 8 games behind the Rays for first place in the AL East. The Sox look to make it 12 wins in a row and third against Tampa tomorrow afternoon when Patrick Sandoval takes on Ian Seymour of the Rays. The game begins at 4:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Bennett, Sox Crush Rays in Game 1 (7/17/26)

During the all-star break the Boston Red Sox made roster moves. The Sox sent a Player To Be Named Later to the Detroit Tigers for outfielder Jahmai Jones. He's hitting just .137 this season which is why he was available. The only silver lining is he can hit lefties so if they want a platoon with him and Masataka Yoshida, why not? To make room for Jones, the Sox sent Nate Eaton back to Worcester. Alec Gamboa was recalled to be the 27th man for the double-header and the Worcester Red Sox released veteran catcher Matt Thaiss. He was hitting .201 for Worcester so no loss there. Lastly, the Sox signed undrafted rookie free agent Jorhan Castro, an 18 year old catcher out of San Angel David in Puerto Rico. Why not?

                                                                           IN

                                                                          IN

As for the game, contrarian Red Sox fans were sure the Sox would stumble out of the gate against the first place Tampa Bay Rays. Instead the Sox beat the living daylights out of the Rays in Game 1 of today's doubleheader. Jake Bennett (5-3, 2.35 ERA) tossed 6 shutout innings off just one hit and a walk in just 65 pitches. The Boston bats woke up against Griffin Jax by pounding him for 7 runs. The Boston bats erupted for 10 runs off 15 hits with some highlights including home runs from Carlos Narvaez and Masataka Yoshida. Caleb Durbin got 3 big hits to continue his resurgence as the Sox opened the second half in style with a 10-0 victory over the Rays at Fenway Park.

                                                   Team Spain approves of the win

Bennett got the ball in the top of the first inning and Yandy Diaz took strike three to start. Jonathan Aranda walked but Junior Caminero lined out to center. Ryan Vilade flied out to left to end the inning. Jax got the ball in the bottom of the first and Anthony Seigler grounded out to first to start. Ceddanne Rafaela struck out swinging and Wilyer Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning.

Jonny DeLuca lined out to center to start the top of the second and Chandler Simpson grounded out to short. Ben Williamson grounded out to first to end the inning. The Sox struck first in the bottom of the second as Caleb Durbin got a base hit to center. Masataka Yoshida poked a double down the third base line but Romy Gonzalez struck out swinging. Jarren Duran hit a 420 foot out to centerfield to score Durbin. Carlos Narvaez blooped a base hit over the head of Williamson to score Yoshida but Tsung-Che Cheng struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox ahead 2-0.

                                                       Sox strike first

Taylor Walls grounded out to third to start the top of the third and Nick Fortes flied out to left. Diaz lined out to left to end the inning. Seigler poked a base hit to left to start the bottom of the third but was forced at second by Rafaela. Rafaela stole second and moved to third on the Abreu grounder to short. Durbin popped up to center to end the inning.

Aranda flied out to center to start the top of the fourth but Caminero singled to left. Vilade popped up to second and the alert Durbin snuffed out a DeLuca bunt attempt to end the inning. The Sox struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Yoshida tucked a home run inside the Pesky Pole to start. Gonzalez struck out swinging, Duran lined out to left and Narvaez grounded out to third to end the inning with the Sox up 3-0.

                                                          Yoshida gets the Wally Head

Duran made a great sliding catch to rob Simpson to start the top of the fifth and Williamson failed an ABS challenge on strike two only to be called out for strike three on a pitch that actually missed. Walls flied out to right to end the inning. Cheng popped up to center to start the bottom of the fifth but Seigler got a base hit to center. Vilade made a great sliding catch to rob Rafaela of a hit and Abreu struck out swinging to end the inning.

Fortes got hit with a pitch to start the top of the sixth but Diaz flied out to right. Aranda took strike three and Caminero popped up to right to end the inning. Due to what happened in the bottom of the sixth, that was it for Bennett after just 65 pitches. He allowed just a hit and a walk in six shutout innings.

                                                     "First place Rays my ass" - JB

Durbin was hit with a pitch to start the bottom of the sixth and Yoshida drilled a base hit to center to move Durbin to third. Gonzalez walked to load the bases and Williamson failed to come up with a grounder by Duran for a "single" to score both Durbin and Yoshida. Chris Roycroft came in to pitch to Narvaez and Carlos caught the Rays asleep with a bunt that drew in Roycroft and Aranda. Fortes threw the ball to Williamson and Ben never even put his glove out for an error to score Gonzalez, moving Duran to third. Cheng then dropped down a bunt that Fortes THOUGHT went foul but stayed on the line, scoring Duran. Seigler grounded into a double play but Rafaela doubled off the Monster to score Narvaez. Abreu was intentionally walked for some baffling reason and Durbin got a seeing eye single to right to score Rafaela. Yoshida struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox up 9-0.

                                                                All Sox today

With a huge lead and a doubleheader tonight, Alec Gamboa was brought in to pitch the top of the seventh. Vilade grounded out to second to start and DeLuca grounded out to third. Simpson flied out to left to end the inning. Gonzalez grounded out to short to start the bottom of the seventh and Duran struck out swinging. Narvaez then blasted his 3rd home run of the season completely out of Fenway and Cheng flied out to the centerfield wall to end the inning with the Sox ahead 10-0.

                                                             Home run Carlos

Williamson grounded out to second to start the top of the eighth but Walls doubled to left. Fortes lined out to left and Diaz grounded out to short to end the inning. Victor Mesa Jr came in for Diaz and infielder Ben Williamson came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Seigler flied out to left and Rafaela flied out to center, but Abreu dumped a base hit to center. Yoshida popped up to short to end the inning.

Gamboa returned to close out the top of the ninth and Aranda lined out to Gamboa to start. Caminero struck out swinging but Gonzalez couldn't dig out a throw by Durbin on a grounder to third by Vilade for a "single". DeLuca popped up to first to end the game. The Sox had won it 10-0.

                                                               Sox win

Hero of The Night is Jake Bennett. He was headed toward a complete game shutout but the Sox bats made this game a laugher. Jake allowed a hit and a walk in 6 shutout innings.

                                                         Hero Bennett

The Good:

Anthony Seigler was 2 for 5.

Caleb Durbin was 3 for 4 with an rbi and 2 runs scored.

Masataka Yoshida was 3 for 5 with a home run and 3 total runs scored.

Jarren Duran was 1 for 3 with 3 rbis and a run scored.

Carlos Narvaez was 3 for 4 with a home run, 3 total rbis and 2 total runs scored.

Alec Gamboa got the save by tossing 3 shutout innings.

The Bad:

None

The Ugly:

Ceddanne Rafaela was just 1 for 5 with a strikeout but stole a base, drove in a run and scored a run.

Wilyer Abreu was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.

Romy Gonzalez was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked and scored a run.

Tsung-Che Cheng was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but drove in a run.

Final Thoughts:

Many were scared they'd come out flat against Tampa and instead they came out like a buzzsaw. Bennett throws first pitch strikes every start and he's been utterly dominating lately. If Garrett Crochet comes back, the Sox will have an embarrassment of riches in the rotation. Not only that, it looks like Ranger Suarez and Connelly Early will be back soon since neither of them were seriously injured. The news gets even better as Willson Contreras will be back from suspension for Game 2 later tonight. One of the most important performances of the game was actually Alec Gamboa. The 27th man activated just for today threw 43 pitches to finish off the game, earn his first save and save the entire pitching staff sans Bennett for Game 2. There was almost nothing to complain about in this one, that's how you know the game went well. The Sox are now 15-2 since the disaster against Colorado and are back within the thick of things in the mediocre American League. A win tonight in Game 2 would simultaneously put them in the third wild card slot and get them back to .500, something no one saw possible just 23 days ago. The win improved the Sox to 47-48, no sense mentioning the standings because Game 2 is yet to play. Game 2 tonight features Eddy Rivera (0-0, 0.00 ERA) as the "opener" against Mason Englert of Tampa Bay. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.

Off-Day News: 2026 MLB Draft Coverage Part 2 (7/14/26)

The first ten picks of the 2026 MLB Draft for the Boston Red Sox made everybody scratch their heads and the next 10 picks were more of the same. At least in the later rounds, the best of the best is already gone so at that point you're drafting projects and depth pieces. But the fact the Sox spent the entire draft on projects and depth pieces is concerning. Not now, but 2-3 years from now a couple bad drafts will leave you with no trade bait.

In the eleventh round, the Red Sox chose Georgia State shortstop Wills Maginnis. Wills hit .306 with 8 home runs so it wasn't like he was a bum over there. He also stole 21 bases so hopefully he can be a stolen base threat as well.....we hope.

                                                           Georgia State stolen base threat

In the 12th round the Red Sox took multi-sport star Jacob Webster out of Oak Hills High School. He played football and baseball so not only do the Sox have to worry about him spurning them for Loyola on a baseball scholarship, he could play college football as well. If he does end up signing with the Sox, he better be worth it.

                                                          Dual threat in baseball and football

In the 13th round the Red Sox took University of Illinois-Chicago right handed pitcher Mason Lei. Lei is another big guy at 6 foot 4 and he was 8-5 with a 4.56 ERA this season. He had 86 strikeouts in 96 innings this year as well, the Sox are hoping to harness his talents to make something of him.

                                       "Ain't gonna swing with my daughter no more" - Lei

In the 14th round, the Sox took 6 foot 2 right handed pitcher Jase Evangelista out of UNLV. He was 4-1 with a 6.17 ERA for UNLV this year and once again, the Sox are treating him as a project instead of a prospect. Only difference is there's not much value left by this point. Good luck.

                                                                  Million dollar smile

In the fifteenth round, the Sox took a journeyman (yes I'm serious) left handed pitcher Chase Frey. He's pitched for three different colleges and spent 2026 at Grand Canyon University. Once again, he's a monster at 6 foot 6 but was 2-7 with a 4.79 ERA in 13 starts. Craig Breslow wants the next Jake Bennett and he's going to keep drafting guys like him by crackey!

                                          He could play basketball if baseball doesn't work out\

In the 16th round, the Sox took Louisiana Tech shortstop Colton Coates. He hit .330 with 5 home runs with only 30 strikeouts in 215 at-bats. If he can hit for contact, that puts him a cut above some of these "launch angle" guys hitting .210. If the pros are too much for him, maybe he can try his luck as a blacksmith.

                                                                  Impeccable tie

In the 17th round the Sox took another bum, Vanderbilt right handed pitcher Alex Kranzler. He's 6 foot 3 but went 3-3 with a 6.18 ERA for the Commodores. Once again, they're not drafting for his stats, they're drafting to see if they can fix him. Usually this doesn't work out but that's not gonna stop Craig Breslow from trying.

                                                 Least he can tell his kids he got drafted

In the 18th round the Sox took Dutch Fork High School outfielder Ethan Offing. He's committed to Clemson but could sign with the Sox if he wants. The word on the street is that Clemson is his destination so this could be a wasted pick. Its the 18th round, nobody cares by this point.

                                                             What the heck is he wearing?

In the 19th round the Sox took Puerto Rican high school pitcher, lefthander Luis Calderon. He's committed to Alabama State and is only 6 feet tall...."only" 6 feet tall. He topped out at 93 mph when he was pitching this year but at such a young age, he could be an intriguing prospect. If he goes to Alabama State? Oh well.

                                                    He's got the MEAN look on his face

The Red Sox 20th and final draft pick was 6 foot 4 Dallas Baptist left handed pitcher Aiden VanDeHatert. He was 2-3 with a 6.10 ERA for Dallas Baptist and topped out in the low 90's on the gun. As usual this is a project pick and the fact he went to a Baptist school reminds Sox fans of their 20th round pick in 2022, Connor Butler. Let's hope Aiden turns out better.

                                                               Hope he finds success

After the draft the Sox signed a rookie free agent, left handed pitcher Carson Revay out of Pacific University. Revay looks like Connelly Early's younger brother and once again, he's 6 foot 4. He was 3-3 with a 4.01 ERA and 9 saves as Pacific's defacto closer. Once again, its not about the numbers, its about harnessing his strength. A bit more velocity might make him deadly, who knows.

                                                           From undrafted to the Red Sox

That does it for the 2026 Red Sox draft class. The bottom rounds are usually cucka but the message is clear. If you're a tall dude, the Sox want you. Whether or not the Sox can get anything out of these pitchers standing between 6'3 and 6'7 is anyone's guess, but as the great basketball coach Adolph Rupp once said "You can't teach height." The high school kids aren't going to be ready for a while so its going to be years before we can accurately judge this one. Still, if Luis Guerrero and Tyler Uberstine can make the majors out of the later rounds, these guys can too!