Corey Kluber worked into the fourth inning in his first spring start with the Tampa Bay Rays, but allowed three home runs in what ended up a 5-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox Saturday at JetBlue Park.
Boston jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a solo shot by Rafael Devers, and saw that extend to 3-0 an inning later on Jackie Bradley Jr.‘s two-run blast.
The Rays cut into the deficit in the third, with Rene Pinto starting with a single off Michael Wacha, and Ford Proctor following with a double. Randy Arozarena‘s groundout plated Pinto, and Wander Franco‘s base hit then brought in Proctor to make it a one-run game.
But Devers gave Boston another insurance run with another solo homer off Kluber in the bottom of the third, and after Proctor’s RBI double in the top of the fifth again cut the deficit to a single run, Kike Hernandez’s solo homer off Matt Wisler in the bottom of the frame capped the scoring.
Tyler Zombro, who missed most of last season after being hit on the head by a line drive in a game with the Durham Bulls, retired both hitters he faced in his first Grapefruit League appearance this spring. Tampa Bay also got scoreless innings from Brooks Raley, J.P. Feyereisen, and JT Chargois.
The Rays welcome the Atlanta Braves to Charlotte Sports Park Sunday, as Ryan Yarbrough goes up against Charlie Morton. First pitch is scheduled fpr 1:05.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
