The Tampa Bay Rays were unable to prevent being swept in Boston, as the Red Sox used a three-run fourth followed by a six-run fifth to finish off the three-game series with a 9-2 victory Wednesday afternoon.
Rays starter Ryan Yarbrough and Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi went toe to toe for the first couple of innings before Tampa Bay got on the board in the third when Francisco Mejia doubled with one out, scoring two batters later on a base hit by Yoshi Tsutsugo.
But Boston countered in the bottom of the fourth with three runs on a RBI single by Xander Bogaerts that tied the game and a two-run homer from Christian Vazquez to break the tie.
The Red Sox added on an inning later, sending ten men to the plate against Yarbrough (0-1) and scoring six more runs. Three of the runs were earned, as J.D. Martinez drove in a pair with a double, and Bogaerts added another RBI with a base hit. The final three were unearned after Willy Adames’ poor throw on Hunter Renfroe’s ground ball allowed two to score, and Christian Arroyo plated Renfroe with a double.
Eovaldi (1-1) allowed just three hits in seven innings work. Josh A. Taylor gave up a RBI single to Mike Brosseau in the ninth, but got the final six outs to end the game.
The Rays will have Thursday off before opening the home portion of the 2021 schedule Friday against the New York Yankees.
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.
