JT Chargois got the ball in the top of the first inning and Tommy Pham struck out swinging to start. Alex Verdugo flied out to center and Xander Bogaerts flied out to right to end the inning. The Rays pounced on Hill in the bottom of the first as Yandy Diaz doubled to right to start. Old pal Manny Margot beat out a roller to second and Randy Arozarena hit a three run home run to end the game just like that. Harold Ramirez walked but Isaac Parades struck out swinging. Francisco Mejia lined out to right and Christian Bethancourt grounded out to third to end the inning.
The Sox fought back in the top of the second as Rafael Devers popped up to third to start. Trevor Story lined out to left but Christian Arroyo singled to right. Triston Casas belted his first career home run to cut the lead, but Kike Hernandez flied out to left to end the inning with the Sox down 3-2.
Yu Chang singled to left to start the bottom of the second before Jose Siri flied out to center. Yandy Diaz grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Rays pour it on
Garrett Cleavinger came in to pitch the top of the third and Reese McGuire singled to left to start. Pham forced Reese at second and Verdugo flied out to left. Bogaerts struck out swinging to end the inning. The Rays struck again in the bottom of the third as Margo dropped down a bunt to catch the Sox asleep to start. Arozarena doubled to left and Ramirez dropped a base hit to left. Both runners scored but Ramirez was thrown out at second. Paredes grounded out to third but Mejia beat out a roller to first. Bethancourt beat out a roller to third but Chang struck out swinging to end the inning with the Rays up 5-2.
Devers flied out to center to open the top of the fourth but Story walked. Arroyo and Casas both struck out swinging to end the inning. Siri took strike three to start the bottom of the fourth before Diaz flied out to right. Margot grounded out to second to end the inning. That was it for Hill who allowed 5 runs in just 4 innings.
Calvin Faucher came in to pitch the top of the fifth and Hernandez lined out to center. McGuire grounded out to third and Pham struck out swinging to end the inning. Eduard Bazardo came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth and Arozarena flied out to center to start. Ramirez struck out swinging and Parades took strike three to end the inning.
Brooks Raley came in to pitch the top of the sixth and Verdugo got a base hit to center to start. Bogaerts grounded into a double play and Devers grounded out to third to end the inning. The Rays poured it on in the bottom of the sixth as Mejia grounded out to second to start. Bethancourt hit a home run all the way to Santo Domingo and then Chang hit a home run off the roof of the dome. Siri flied out to right but Diaz was hit with a pitch. Diaz took second on a wild pitch and Margot struck out swinging to end the inning with the Rays up 7-2.
Story took strike three to start the top of the seventh before Arroyo lined out to right. Casas struck out swinging to end the inning. Tyler Danish came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh with Rob Refsnyder taking over for Bogaerts. Arozarena doubled to center to start before Ramirez grounded out to short. A wild pitch moved Arozarena to third but Paredes struck out swinging. Mejia doubled to center to score Arozarena but Bethancourt grounded out to second to end the inning with the Rays up 8-2.
The Sox had one last gasp against old pal Jalen "Twin" Beeks in the top of the eighth. Hernandez flied out to center to begin but McGuire walked. Pham then blasted a home run to cut the lead in half. Verdugo singled past the pitcher but Refsnyder forced him at second. Devers struck out swinging to end the inning with the Sox down 8-4.
Home run Pham
Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Chang walked to start. Siri struck out swinging and Diaz grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Jason Adam came in to close out the top of the ninth and Story went down hacking to start. Arroyo popped up to left and Casas struck out swinging to end the game. The Rays had won it 8-4.
Jackass of The Night is Rich Hill. He allowed 5 early runs to put the Sox in a hole they couldn't climb out of.
The Good:
Alex Verdugo was 2 for 4.
Reese McGuire was 1 for 2 with 2 walks and a run scored.
Ryan Brasier tossed a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Xander Bogaerts was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 1.
Rafael Devers was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 3.
Eduard Bazardo allowed 2 runs in 2 innings.
Tyler Danish allowed a run in an inning of work.
The Ugly:
Tommy Pham was just 1 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but hit a 2 run home run.
Trevor Story was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Christian Arroyo was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout but scored a run.
Triston Casas was just 1 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts but hit a 2 run home run.
Final Thoughts:
All it took was two games against the Tampa Bay Rays to send the Sox back to reality and pretty much out of the playoffs. When push came to shove against the AL East, the Sox just couldn't get it done. The sad part was they have a winning record against any other division but just couldn't beat Tampa, Toronto, New York or Baltimore. Hill got hammered in this game but so did the bullpen. The Sox bats were silenced by a bullpen game by Tampa and that's pretty embarrassing. The Sox need their offense to stay hot but its too little, too late. Sox GM Craig Breslow bargain bin shopping for starting pitchers didn't work but can't predict the entire rotation getting hurt. The bad news is the rumors are getting louder of Nathan Eovaldi, JD Martinez and Bogaerts are as good as gone in free agency. Hopefully they can keep them, but its doubtful. The loss dropped the Sox to 67-70, good for last place in the AL East. The Sox look to salvage the season tomorrow night when Nick Pivetta takes on old pal Jeffrey Springs of Tampa. The game begins at 6:30 PM at Tropicana Field.
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