Porcello took the mound in the top of the first inning and Kevin Kiermaier grounded out to short to start the game. Lucas Duda popped up to center and Evan Longoria grounded out to second to end the inning. Xander Bogaerts led off the bottom of the first by striking out badly on a pitch that bounced in the dirt. Andrew Benintendi whiffed on a full count and Mookie Betts hit his usual pulled ball to short to end the inning.
Porcello ran into trouble when he walked Logan Morrison to begin the top of the second inning. Corey Dickerson struck out and Adeiny Hechavarria banged into a double play to end the inning, so much for trouble. Mitch Moreland led off the bottom of the second inning with a walk and Rafael Devers hit a ground ball to second basemen Brad Miller. It should have been a double-play ball but Miller bobbled it and only got Devers at first. Christian Vazquez made Miller pay with a bloop single to right. Moreland hightailed it home and right fielder Mallex Smith botched the relay throw that Duda tried to corral, but he botched it as well. Moreland scored and Vazquez ended up at third. Brock Holt worked a walk and swiped second to put two men in scoring position. Sam Travis hit a fly ball to right and Vazquez broke for home......OUT! But wait! Sox manager John Farrell challenged the call and the umpires ruled OUT! Sox analyst Jerry Remy went nuts in the broadcast booth as Vazquez was clearly safe, but was ruled out to end the inning with the Sox still ahead 1-0.
JBJ ran into the triangle to rob Miller of extra bases to open the top of the third inning. Wilson Ramos grounded out to short but Devers threw a ground ball by Smith 75 feet over the head of Moreland at first, allowing Smith to reach on the error. Kiermaier was rung up for strike three which was a makeup call for the blown one at the plate to end the inning. JBJ got his first hit against Cobb EVER with a base hit to right to start the bottom of the third. Sox analyst Dennis Eckersley said it was party time as Bogaerts grounded out to third but JBJ moved to second. Jerry Remy told a story of how Don Zimmer told him not to steal with Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski behind him and the win blowing out during the 1978 season. Benintendi and Betts both struck out to end the inning.
Porcello almost got tagged in the top of the fourth inning as Duda pounded a ground rule double to right. Longoria popped up to second but Morrison walked. Porcello recovered to strike out Dickerson and Bogaerts made a great play to rob Hechavarria of a hit to end the inning. Cobb nearly cruised in the bottom of the fourth as Moreland grounded out to second and Devers grounded out to first to start Vazquez lashed a base hit up the middle but Holt grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Rays finally broke Porcello in the top of the fifth inning when Miller doubled down the left field line to start. Ramos poked a ball into right to score Miller to tie the game. Smith popped up to left but Kiermaier singled to center. Porcello got Duda swinging on high cheese but Lomgoria singled down the right field line to give Tampa the lead. Morrison walked to load the bases but Dickerson flied out to end the inning but the Rays were up for good 2-1. Porcello was done for the day, normally allowing only 2 runs isn't the end of the world but it seemed like it.
The Sox offense was done as Travis grounded out to short, JBJ whiffed and Bogaerts grounded out to end the inning.
Brandon Workman took over in the top of the sixth inning and the Rays poured it on. Hechavarria flied out to center and Miller lined out to right but Ramos blasted a solo home run to put the game out of reach. Smith grounded out to second to end the inning but it was now 3-1 Rays.
The Sox tried a pathetic comeback in the bottom of the sixth when Benintendi hit a lucky single to center and Betts walked to chase Cobb. Dan Jennings came in and immediately got Moreland to ground into a double play to kill the rally. Devers grounded out meekly to end the inning.
Tampa's vaunted offense struck again in the top of the seventh. Robby Scott came in to pitch the top of the seventh inning and struck out Kiermaier to start, but Duda absolutely crushed a home run to center to increase the lead. Sox manager John Farrell sprinted out of the dugout with his fists balled and started swinging wildly at Scott. Scott ran away screaming into the dugout as pitching coach Carl Willis had Addison Reed crawl in from the bullpen. Reed got Longoria to ground to short and struck out Morrison to end the inning but it was 4-1 Rays.
Steve Cishek was the next one to shut out the Sox in the bottom of the seventh inning with Pete Bourjos in right field. Vazquez hit a pathetic pop up to right and Holt hit a putrid grounder to short, but Travis hit a lucky single to right. JBJ swung pathetically at a ball in the dirt for strike three to end the inning.
"The White Flag" Fernando Abad was brought in to pitch the top of the eighth inning. Holt made a great diving catch on Dickerson before Abad got Hechavarria on a 59 mph eephus pitch that would have made Bill Lee proud. Miller singled up the middle as John Farrell stormed out to the mound, ripped open his shirt, threw his hat down, kicked dirt at Abad and screamed at him to get out of there. The umpires nearly threw him out but Matt Barnes sprinted in from the bullpen to save him. Ramos singled up the middle but Barnes blew away Bourjos to end the inning.
It was Tommy Hunter's turn to shut out the Sox in the bottom of the eighth inning. Bogaerts hit a pathetic pop up to center, Benintendi hit a meek grounder to first and Betts hit a horrid pop up to right to end the inning.
Craig "The Buzzard" Kimbrel was brought in to pitch the top of the ninth inning and he blew away Kiermaier to start. Kimbrel blew away Duda and Longoria to end the inning. Jesus Colome came in to close out the Sox in the bottom of the ninth. Moreland hit a pathetic grounder to short, Devers hit a weak grounder to second and Vazquez whiffed badly to end the game. The Sox offense was lifeless and they lost the game and their lead in the AL East 4-1.
Jackass of the Night is Rafael Devers. He came up twice with men on base when the game meant something and failed to produce.
The Good:
Christian Vazquez was 2 for 4 with an rbi.
Sam Travis was 1 for 3.
Jackie Bradley Jr was 1 for 3.
Addison Reed got the final 2 outs of the seventh inning.
Fernando Abad got the first 2 outs of the eigth inning.
Matt Barnes got the final out of the eighth inning.
Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the top of the ninth.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
The Ugly:
Andrew Benintendi was just 1 for 4.
Mookie Betts was 0 for 3 but walked.
Mitch Moreland was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.
Brock Holt was 0 for 2 but walked and stole a base.
Rick Porcello took the loss by allowing 2 runs in just 5 innings. Normally that's not the worst but with this offense, 2 runs is a death knell.
Final Thoughts:
What a pathetic, pathetic showing by the Red Sox. They had a chance to get some serious momentum going into tomorrow's off-day and their horrid offense cost them another game. The New York Yankees won as well so this slumber by the offense cost them dearly. The bullpen giving up 2 runs didn't help either but with the offense completely asleep, not even Cy Young could have helped them today. The Sox have 19 games left and every single one is going to be a struggle because of this incompetent offense. There's nothing that can be done this far into the season, this is what they have for the remainder. The loss dropped the Sox to 81-62, 3.5 games ahead of the Yankees for first place in the AL East. After an off-day tomorrow, the Oakland A's are in town on Tuesday. Shawn Manaea shuts down the Red Sox offense while Eduardo Rodriguez (4-5, 4.33 ERA) gets lit up again. The carnage starts at 7:10 PM
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