As for the game, the Red Sox are in deep doo-doo if they can't hit with the team they have. For the second game in a row the Tampa Bay Rays shut down what's left of the Boston bats. Shane McClanahan allowed a single run before the Tampa bullpen held the Sox to just one run in five innings. That's just 1 run in 12 innings allowed by the Tampa bullpen. Meanwhile Garrett Whitlock (0-1, 9.00 ERA) added to the Sox rotation ineptitude by stinking the joint out in his season debut. Three different Rays homered off Whitlock as The Lock allowed five runs. Kaleb Ort allowed another pair and this game wasn't even close. Triston Casas made an error and the Sox were beaten for the second game in a row by the Rays 7-2 at Tropicana Field.
McClanahan got the ball in the top of the first inning and Kike Hernandez flied out to right to start. Rafael Devers struck out swinging but Justin Turner and Masa Yoshida drew back to back walks. Rob Refsnyder took strike three to end the inning. The Rays wasted no time getting to The Lock in the bottom of the first as Yandy Diaz got a base hit to left to start. Brandon Lowe grounded out to first to move Diaz to second but Randy Arozarena struck out swinging. Wander Franco doubled into the gap in center to score Diaz, putting the Rays up for good early. Luke Raley popped up to third but the game was already over, 1-0 Rays.
The Sox failed to respond in the top of the second as Alex Verdugo flied out to center to start. Christian Arroyo took strike three but Bobby Dalbec walked. Connor Wong struck out swinging to end the inning. The Rays got another run in the bottom of the second although Isaac Parades flied out to left to start. Francisco Mejia flied out to right but Josh Lowe got a base hit to center. Lowe swiped second and scored on the Vidal Brujan single to center. Brujan was thrown out at second trying to steal to end the inning but it was 2-0 Rays.
The Sox did nothing in the top of the third as Hernandez struck out swinging to start. Devers flied out to left and Turner struck out swinging to end the inning. Things got weird in the bottom of the third as Diaz singled to center to start. Brandon Lowe took strike three and it looked like Arozarena banged into a double play to end the inning. Rays manager Kevin Cash challenged that BOTH outs never happened and the call at second stood but Arozarena did beat the throw to be safe at first. Then it looked like Arozarena was thrown out trying to steal second but Cash challenged that call as well. Replays showed he was out to end the inning.
Yoshida grounded back to the mound to start the top of the fourth before Refsnyder struck out swinging. Verdugo grounded out to first to end the inning. The Rays got another run in the bottom of the fourth although Franco flied out to right to start. Raley struck out swinging but Parades hit a home run to Venus to increase the lead. Mejia struck out swinging to end the inning but it was 3-0 Rays.
Arroyo struck out swinging to start the top of the fifth but Dalbec got a base hit to left. Wong struck out swinging but Dalbec swiped second base. Hernandez grounded out to short to end the inning. The Rays iced the game in the bottom of the fifth although Josh Lowe struck out swinging to start. Brujan grounded out to third but Diaz hit a home run into the Long Island Sound. Brandon Lowe followed it with a home run all the way to Nova Scotia to turn this game into a laughter. Arozarena flied out to center to end the inning but it was 5-0 Rays. That was it for Whitlock who was straight batting practice for the Rays, getting knocked around for three home runs, eight hits and five runs in just five innings.
Devers tried to start a rally in the top of the sixth with a walk and Turner followed with a base hit to left to move Rafael to third. Garrett Cleavinger came in to pitch to Yoshida and naturally Masataka banged into a double play that did score Devers, but killed the rally. Refsnyder flied out to right to end the inning with the Sox down 5-1.
Richard Bleier came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth and Franco popped up to first to start. Raley lined out to center but Parades singled to left. Mejia struck out swinging to end the inning.
Jason Adam came in to pitch the top of the seventh and Verdugo flied out to center to start. Arroyo popped up to first but Triston Casas pinch hit for Dalbec. Casas grounded out to short to end the inning. Kaleb Ort came in to take a beating in the bottom of the seventh as Josh Lowe joined the homer parade with one all the way to Orlando. Brujan took strike three but Diaz walked and Brandon Lowe doubled to center. Arozarena hit a routine grounder to Casas who threw himself on the ball like a grenade for an error that scored Diaz. Franco struck out swinging and Raley grounded out to second to end the inning with the Rays up 7-1.
Ryan Thompson came in to pitch the top of the eighth and Reese McGuire pinch hit for Wong to start. McGuire did mash a double to left but Hernandez grounded out to third. McGuire moved to third on the grounder to Diaz by Devers but Diaz was hurt on the play. Old friend Manny Margot took over for Diaz as Turner drew another walk. Yoshida popped up to short to end the inning. Ryan Brasier came in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and Parades struck out swinging to start. Mejia flied out to right and Josh Lowe grounded out to second to end the inning.
The Sox got a run against Calvin Faucher in the top of the ninth although Refsnyder lined out to center to start. Verdugo got a base hit to center and Raimel Tapia pinch hit for Arroyo. Tapia got a base hit by the mound but Casas lined out to right. McGuire stroked a base hit to right to score Verdugo to wrap up the scoring. Hernandez struck out swinging to end the game. The Rays had won it 7-2.
Jackass of the Night is Garrett Whitlock. He got lit up for 5 runs, 3 home runs and 8 hits in just 5 innings.
The Good:
Justin Turner was 1 for 2 with 2 walks.
Raimel Tapia singled in his only at-bat.
Bobby Dalbec walked and singled.
Reese McGuire was 2 for 2 with an rbi.
Richard Bleier pitched a scoreless sixth inning.
Ryan Brasier pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
The Bad:
Kike Hernandez was 0 for 5 with 2 strikeouts.
Rob Refsnyder was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
Christian Arroyo was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.
Triston Casas was 0 for 2 and committed an error.
Connor Wong was 0 for 2 with 2 strikeouts.
Kaleb Ort allowed 2 runs in the seventh inning.
The Ugly:
Rafael Devers was 0 for 3 with a strikeout but walked and scored a run.
Masa Yoshida was 0 for 3 but walked.
Alex Verdugo was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.
Final Thoughts:
This is completely embarrassing at this point. The Sox essentially hired Bloom away from the Rays before the 2020 season and the Rays went on to win the American League pennant that year, win 100 games in 2021 and sneak in to the Wild Card series last year. Meanwhile apart from three months in 2021 the Sox have been a last place team ever since. Either John Henry got sold a bill of goods or he unknowingly hired the Rays front office coffee getter. Its all adding up as the Rays are undefeated this year and the Sox can't compete with them on any level. They're better offensively (which is a sin), defensively, in the rotation, on the bases and in the bullpen. The Sox have been in virtually every game this year but this was a straight beatdown. Whitlock looked like crap but that was most likely due to rust and a good Tampa team. What more can be said about the pathetic Red Sox offense that hasn't already been said? If they can't pitch well, they don't win. It may be too late for the Sox to get their injured guys back when the time comes if they keep losing games long before. Not only that, if they can't beat the Rays, what are the New York Yankees going to do to them? The less said about this disaster of a game, the better. The Sox look to put the first loss on the Rays tomorrow evening when Chris Sale (1-0) gets the ball as he faces Taj Bradley of Tampa. The game begins at 6:40 PM at Tropicana Field.
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