By Zachary McMahon –
The Boston Red Sox played in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. The Rays entered the game leading the series 2-1 after taking Wednesday’s game.
Vaughn Grissom started at second base after taking the night off on Wednesday. Tyler O’Neil had the night off and Rob Refsnyder took his place in left field, and Reese McGuire played the game at catcher, giving Connor Wong the night off.
Cooper Criswell made his sixth start of the season for the Sox. Criswell entered the game with the Sox winning his last four starts despite the last two being no decisions for him as he would pitch at least four innings in each one. This one however was not the case for Criswell, as he went 3 ⅔ innings, allowing five runs (three earned), allowing four hits and three walks. He was replaced in the fourth inning by Brennan Bernardino, who pitched the rest of the fourth, and the fifth. Bernadino only allowed one hit and struck out two Rays batters.
The Rays struck first with a RBI groundout by Richie Palacios in the second inning, which scored Jonathan Aranda, who was one of Criswell’s three walks on the night.
Meanwhile, in the bottom half of the second, Rafael Devers hit a solo homer that landed in the Green Monster seats that tied the game at one.
In the third, Josh Lowe hit a 380-foot two-run homer to right field that had the Rays take back the lead.
Then in the fourth, Criswell got in a bases-loaded jam after a strikeout to Palacios. Shortstop Jose Caballero reached on another throwing error by Ceddane Rafaela that first baseman Dominic Smith could not scoop up. This was the third straight game where the Sox defense coughed up an error. Then, there was a double by catcher Ben Rortvedt, and then Criswell hit Jose Siri.
When leadoff batter Yandy Diaz came up, Criswell threw a wild pitch that scored Caballero, and then Diaz had a RBI groundout that scored Rortvedt to make it 5-1.
In the fifth inning, Jarren Duran started off by hitting his second double of the game, as he made it his second straight game that he hit two doubles, in which it is the first time in his career that he had two or more doubles in two straight games. That was also his third game with multiple doubles this season, which matches his total from last season.
Duran then advanced to third on a fly out by Wilyer Abreu, who went 0-for-5 in the game with three flyouts, a groundout, and a strikeout. Refsnyder then reached on an infield single, when nobody covered first base on a ground ball. Devers was walked by starting pitcher Zach Littell, and it made the bases loaded. Dominic Smith grounded out, in which Duran scored. Then, Garrett Cooper cleared the bases with a two-run double that cut the deficit to one run when it became 5-4.
The Sox tied the game up at five in the sixth inning when Duran hit a solo homer to right center off Rays reliever Kevin Kelly. That was Duran’s third extra base hit of the game, which was his fourth time having three or more extra base hits in his career.
Before that in the top of the sixth, Zack Kelly struggled with command as he gave up four walks, but he did not allow a run due to Caballero being thrown out by McGuire on a steal attempt, and it being two outs when the bases were loaded, and Randy Arozarena grounded out.
Justin Slaten however struck out all three batters he faced when he struck out Aranda, Issac Parades, and Palacios in the seventh, as Curtis Martin was able to keep the game tied while only allowing one hit in the eighth.
Sox closer Kenley Jansen on the other hand could not keep it tied when he allowed a go-ahead run that was hit by Parades off the Green Monster, and a sacrifice fly to Duran from Palacios that scored Aranda to make it 7-5.
The Sox attempted to make a rally as Refsnyder walked and Devers his a single while Refsnyder went to third with two outs remaining off closer Jason Adam .
When Romy Gonzalez came up to bat, the Rays manager Kevin Cash tried to do a mound visit, but they were out of mound visits as each team is allowed four, and the Rays used them all. The Rays were forced to change the pitcher, in which they would put Erasmo Ramirez to test Gonzalez, who had a walk-off RBI two days prior, and had pinch hit for Smith in the seventh and walked before taking over first base at the top of the eighth.
Gonzalez grounded out to Ramirez as Ramirez would earn his first save since 2020 with the New York Mets after facing the last batter.
The Rays took the series 3-1 as they would go on to win 7-5. The Sox will be going on the road for six days, traveling to St. Louis to face the Cardinals for an inter-league weekend series before going to Tampa Bay to face the Rays in a three-game series from Monday-Wednesday. It will be an 8:15 first pitch on Friday against the Cardinals with Sox ace Brayan Bello making his second start since coming off the injured list going up against Kyle Gibson on NESN/NESN360.