This game was bonkers.
Happy Monday, and time for a new series! This time, it’s against division rivals, the Red Sox, and the Rays are in enemy territory for the outing. The night was also a big deal as the Sox had called up MLB’s top prospect, Roman Anthony. The Rays weren’t in the mood to be wowed by hot prospects, though. They had Shane Baz on the mound, up against Brayan Bello for the Sox.
In the first, the Rays went 1-2-3 to start things off. The Sox did much the same in the home half.
In the second, Jake Mangum got a two-out single, then Kameron Misner doubled, putting two men in scoring position. The Rays, however, were not able to bring either runner home. In the bottom of the inning, Trevor Story got a leadoff single. Then, with two outs, Marcelo Mayer walked. Ceddanne Rafaela walked to load the bases, and then things got dramatic. As the original call stood, Connor Wong hit an RBI single. The Rays, though, challenged the call, and it was quickly obvious that Wong was out and the inning was over.
The Rays once again went 1-2-3 in the top of the third, and the Red Sox did the same in the home half.
Yandy Diaz and Jonathan Aranda got back-to-back singles in the top of the fourth. Junior Caminero popped into a double play but it was a slightly baffling one. Because of the high pop and the force out being in play, the call was an infield fly rule, so the Sox messed up when they didn’t tag Yandy out at third. They did tag Aranda out at second, and the pop out got Caminero. It was all a bit perplexing and led to another discussion where the Rays insisted on an explanation and one was given on field. Once that was settled, Mangum singled to score Diaz, putting the Rays on the board first.
In the home half, the Red Sox were three-up, three-down.
The Rays continued to apply pressure in the fifth, with Danny Jansen getting a free pass thanks to a hit-by-pitch with one out in the inning. Jansen advanced a bag on the next out, and then a Brandon Lowe single brought Jansen home. Yandy Diaz then singled to right, but it was a bad moment for new arrival Anthony, who let the single just roll right by his glove and to the outfield wall. The error allowed Lowe to score.
Marcelo Mayer started the home half with a leadoff double, then Rafaela singled right after him. Had Brandon Lowe not expertly blocked the hit from Rafaela, it might have scored a run. Connor Wong grounded into a double play that allowed Mayer to score but eliminated Rafaela and Wong. The Sox got one back but that was all they’d manage.
The Rays were 1-2-3 for the top of the sixth. In the home half Rafael Devers took a leadoff walk, then Abraham Toro was hit by a pitch. With one out, that was the end of the night for Baz. Garrett Cleavinger came on in relief and it was not a relief at all. With two outs, Kristian Campbell was hit by a pitch, then pinch-hitter Romy Gonzalez doubled, driving in two runs to tie up the game.
In the top of the seventh, Taylor Walls drew a walk. Then with one out, Bello’s night was over. Brennan Bernardino came in, so we swapped BB for BB. Walls stole second, then Josh Lowe doubled to bring Walls home and put the Rays back in the lead. The pitcher attempted a pickoff, which resulted in Lowe getting tangled in the legs of the second baseman before still managing to get to third safely. With two outs, Diaz was intentionally walked. A wild pitch then allowed Lowe to score. Aranda then doubled, to bring Diaz home. Just like that (and with a little luck from the Red Sox making mistakes) the Rays were back on top.
Eric Orze was next out of the Rays’ pen in the home half, and gave up a walk to Wong, then a double to Jarren Durran. With one out, a Toro groundout scored Wong. Manuel Rodríguez then replaced Orze. Trevor Story singled to score Durran and suddenly that new 3-run lead was dwindling. Story stole second, then Roman Anthony walked. But Rodriguez managed to get the final out of the inning and limit the damage while maintaining the lead.
In the eighth, the Rays had one baserunner with a two-out single from Walls, but no runs scored. With one out in the home half, Rafaela singled. With two outs it was Pete Fairbanks time, and that didn’t stop Rafaela from stealing second. It was a tense final out, but he got there.
In the top of the ninth, Jose Caballero walked with one out. Caballero then stole second. And then stole third just because, like, why not? Yandy Diaz walked to put runners on the corners. A looooong flyout from Aranda scored Caballero, and bumped Diaz up to second. They’d settle for the one run, but it was a helpful one.
Fairbanks was back out for the bottom of the ninth. Devers got a leadoff walk. Toro then lobbed a double off the Monster. Anthony collected his first RBI with a groundout, and now those two bonus runs the Rays got were looking extra beneficial. An RBI single from Campbell tied the game up at 7-7. Gonzalez then singled to short right and pushed Campbell to third. The Sox couldn’t manage the walk-off, so the game headed to the 10th.
Aroldis Chapman was in for the Red Sox, and gave up a leadoff single to Mangum, pushing free baserunner Caminero to third. Walls hit a sac fly to score Caminero. The one run was all they would get, but it might just be what they needed…
Ian Seymour came in for the Rays to really, seriously, hopefully hang on for the win this time. With two outs, Devers was intentionally walked. Toro reached on a fielding error by Aranda, Rafaela scored, and Devers got to third on a different error by Aranda. The rare double error. And that sent the game into the 11th.
Zack Kelly was next out for the Sox, Josh Lowe got a leadoff walk, then a Cabellero sac bunt pushed both baserunners to scoring position. With two outs, Aranda was intentionally walked to load the bases, then Caminero walked to score a run. Mangum then singled and there was no coverage at first on time, so Lowe scored. Would a two-run lead be enough? Who knows with this game, honestly?
A pinch-hitting Rob Refsnyder walked to start the home half of the eleventh. Seymour then collected the next two outs. With the strikeout of Gonzalez, Alex Cora came screaming out of the pen, but buddy, you can’t argue balls and strikes my man. The theatrics didn’t matter as a Rafaela lineout ended the inning. What a debut for Seymour, who got his first career win.
Final: Rays 10, Red Sox 8 (F/11)