As for the game, it went just about as you'd expect now with Duvall gone. The red hot Tampa Bay Rays remained undefeated although the Red Sox pitching did their best to keep pace. Old friend Jalen "Twin" Beeks tossed 2 shutout innings as the "opener" before the Rays bullpen threw 7 scoreless innings against the horribly constructed Boston lineup. On the other side of the ball, Nick Pivetta tossed 5 scoreless innings and Josh Winckowski added two more innings of his own. The game turned in the eighth where Rafael Devers looked at strike three with the bases loaded and Brandon Lowe homered off Chris Martin in the bottom of the frame. Pete Fairbanks slammed the door and the Rays had improved to 10-0 with a 1-0 win over the Sox in just 2 hours and 6 minutes at Tropicana Field.
Beeks got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez led off by flying out to right. Rafael Devers took strike three and Justin Turner lined out to left to end the inning. Pivetta got the ball in the bottom of the first and Yandy Diaz flied out to center to start. Brandon Lowe grounded out to second but Randy Arozarena singled to right. Arozarena stole second but Wander Franco struck out to end the inning.
Masa Yoshida got a base hit to left to start the top of the second but Rob Refsnyder struck out swinging. Alex Verdugo flied out to left and Christian Arroyo flied out to left to end the inning. Luke Raley doubled to right to start the bottom of the second but Harold Ramirez struck out swinging. Isaac Parades struck out swinging and old pal Manny Margot grounded back to the mound to end the inning.
Josh Fleming came in to pitch the top of the third and Triston Casas struck out swinging to start. Connor Wong grounded out to short and Hernandez whiffed to end the inning. The Rays threatened in the bottom of the third as Christian Benthancourt flied out to left to start. Diaz singled to center and Lowe walked, but Refsnyder made a great catch to rob Arozarena of a base hit. Franco grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the fourth as Devers grounded out to second to start. Turner flied out to right and Yoshida popped up to third to end the inning. Pivetta matched Fleming in the bottom of the fourth as Raley struck out swinging to begin. Ramirez flied out to right and Parades lined out to center to end the inning.
Refsnyder grounded out to short to start the top of the fifth before Verdugo was rung up for strike three. Arroyo got a base hit to right but Casas lined out to first to end the inning. Margot lined out to center to start the bottom of the fifth before Bethancourt struck out swinging. Diaz walked but Lowe struck out swinging to end the inning. Once again Sox manager Alex Cora pulled his starter after 5 innings and Pivetta was done after 83 pitches. He allowed just 3 hits, 2 walks and no runs.
The Sox couldn't touch Fleming in the top of the sixth as Wong struck out swinging to start. Hernandez grounded out to third and Devers took strike three to end the inning. Josh Winckowski came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Arozarena grounded out to third to begin. Franco flied out to right and Raley struck out swinging to end the inning.
Garrett Cleavinger came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Turner grounded out to first to start. Yoshida struck out swinging and Refsnyder grounded out to third to end the inning. Ramirez grounded out to third to begin the bottom of the seventh but Parades singled in the hole at short. Vidal Brujan pinch ran for Parades but was forced at second by Margot. Bethancourt grounded out to short to end the inning.
Colin Poche came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Verdugo walked to start. Arroyo flied out to right and Bobby Dalbec made his season debut, pinch hitting for Casas. Dalbec got a base hit to left but Wong lined out to left. Hernandez walked to load the bases but Devers looked at strike three right down the middle to end the inning.
Naturally the Rays capitalized in the bottom of the eighth with Chris Martin now on the mound. Diaz popped up to second but Lowe hit a home run all the way into the Gulf of Mexico to put the game away. Arozarena grounded out to third and Franco popped up to second to end the inning with the Rays ahead 1-0.
Pete Fairbanks came in to close out the top of the ninth and Turner took strike three to start. Yoshida grounded back to the mound but Raimel Tapia pinch hit for Refsnyder. Tapia grounded out to second to end the inning. The Rays had won 2-1 in a game that took just 2 hours and 6 minutes to complete.
Jackass of the Night is Rafael Devers. He was 0 for 4 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts with the third being the biggest with the bases loaded.
The Good:
Christian Arroyo was 1 for 3.
Bobby Dalbec got a base hit as a pinch hitter.
Nick Pivetta pitched 5 shutout innings and allowed just 3 hits and 2 walks. He struck out six as well.
Josh Winckowski tossed 2 shutout innings.
The Bad:
Justin Turner was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.
Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Raimel Tapia was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.
Triston Casas was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.
Connor Wong was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.
Chris Martin took the loss by giving up the run in the eighth inning.
The Ugly:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked.
Masa Yoshida was just 1 for 4 with a strikeout.
Alex Verdugo was 0 for 2 with a strikeout but walked.
Final Thoughts:
That was actually a good game, its a shame the Sox didn't win. Its easy to see why though, they had a black hole in the bottom of the order going into the season and injuries made it even worse. Apart from Verdugo, Devers and Turner they don't have anyone that's hit consistently in the Majors before. Yoshida and Casas are technically rookies while Hernandez, Arroyo, Wong and Refsnyder are backups. This is not a recipe for success. Its would be totally unfair to blame Sox GM Chaim Bloom for Trevor Story needing surgery in February and Duvall for fracturing his wrist as a freak accident, but that's why you stock AAA with experience and not bargain bin bench strength. The offense is simply not good enough but kudos to the pitching to hold the undefeated Rays to just a single run. They'll win more than they lose if they can keep the other team off the board like that more often. The Sox look to rebound tomorrow evening when Garrett Whitlock comes off the Injured List to make his season debut against Shane McClanahan of the Rays. The game begins at 6:40 PM at Tropicana Field.
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