Final: Red Sox 4, Rays 3 (11)

For the second straight game, the Red Sox blew a lead in the eighth inning. And for the second straight game, they overcame that to beat the Tampa Bay Rays' Jose Alvarado.

Christian Vazquez delivered a sacrifice fly in the top of the 11th inning as the Sox edged the Rays, 4-3, to complete a weekend sweep at Tropicana Field.

Vazquez delivered Rafael Devers, who had singled, taken second on a walk and advanced to third on a bunt by Jackie Bradley Jr.

Matt Barnes yielded a game-tying homer in the eighth to Tommy Pham as the Sox had their third blown save in the last four games.

David Price gave the Sox a strong start, allowing two runs over six innings. Mitch Moreland got them on the board with a solo homer in the fourth and Xander Bogaerts contributed a two-run single in the sixth.

WHO: Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
WHEN: 2:10 p.m.
WHERE: Tropicana Field
SERIES TO DATE: 2-0, Red Sox
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP David Price vs. (1-1. 3.79) vs. RHP Tyler Glasnow (4-0, 1.13)

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

6:03    Impressive at-bat for Chavis, who lays off a couple of tough inside pitches and works a walk against Jose Alvarado, against whom he doubled on Saturday night.

5:45    Sox leave two more men on base, giving them 14 for the game. Moreover, seven of the last nine outs by the Sox have been strikeouts.

5:31    Red Sox go to extra innings for the first time this season

5:04   For the second straight game, Matt Barnes has allowed a game-tying homer in the eighth inning. Hanging curveball to Pham proves highly costly

4:43  Red Sox can't cash in on a good opportunity. They've stranded 10, including five in scoring position.

4:32  Brandon Workman, who had walked multiple hitters in each of his last two outings, comes out throwing strikes this time, getting ahead of two of the three hitters he faced and retiring the Rays in order.

4:18  Xander Bogaerts, with an aggressive approach, slams a first-pitch fastball to center, scoring two as the Red Sox take their first lead of the afternoon. Before that at-bat, Bogaerts had a career batting average of .351 with the bases loaded.

3:58 Inexperience from Chavis there, as he didn't get a lot on that shovel pass to Bogaerts, and the Sox can't record the double play. Had Chavis either gotten a little more on the throw or thrown overhand, Sox might have been gotten two.

3:38    Strong outing for Price to date, but pitch count already an issue with 80 pitches through four innings. Probably just an inning left unless the fifth in especially quick and efficient.

3:24   Mitch Moreland continues his hot start by hammering a fastball down-and-in -- right in his hot zone -- and hitting it out to right for the first Red Sox run

3:17   Price had to throw a strike on a full count, but left that two-seamer dead red and Daniel Robertson sliced it to the gap in right-center for a two-run double. He had been a strike away from getting out of the mess that began with two singles to start the inning.

3:00 Red Sox unable to get much going vs. Tyler Glasnow in the first three innings, with just one hit (infield single). He's kept the ball out of the middle of the plate and changed speed nicely.

LINEUPS



RED SOX

Benintendi LF
Betts RF
Moreland 1B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Chavis 2B
Bradley CF
Vazquez C

RAYS

Diaz 1B
Pham 1B
Robertson 3B
Garcia DH
Wendle 2B
Heredia RF
Kiermaier CF
Adames SS
Perez C

WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox have won two straight to give themselves their first series victory of the year and have a chance to record their first sweep with a win today...On Saturday, the Red Sox won 6-5 when catcher Christian Vazquez picked Tommy Pham off first for the final account. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first Red Sox victory in the Expansion Era (dating to 1961) to end with a catcher's pickoff...Vazquez has seven career pickoffs, the most for a Sox catcher since Rich Gedman, who had 12 from 1980-1990...Michael Chavis, who made his major league debut Saturday night and delivered a pinch-hit double, became the first Sox player with a hit in his first plate appearance since Tzu-Wei Lin on June 26, 2017...He also became the first Sox player to deliver a double in his first major league plate appearance since Bryce Brentz in 2014...Chavis was the 39th hitter Rays reliever Jose Alvarado faced this season and the first to produce an extra-base hit against him....Red Sox starters continue to show improvement. In the first 13 games of the season, they posted a collective 8.79 ERA; in the eight games since, they've pitched to 3.16 ERA....They've also drastically cut the number of home runs allowed, from 16 in the first nine games to six in the last 12....The Sox are 8-6 when they homer and 0-7 when they don't...Boston hitters have belted six homers in their last three games...Boston is 8-3-1 in its last 12 series at Tropicana Field...Dating back to August of 2016, 18 of the last 27 games at the Trop between the Sox and Rays have been decided by one or two runs...J.D. Martinez has hit safely in the last 10 games and has reached base in 20 of the 21 games this season...Over his last 11 games, Andrew Benintendi is 14-for-40 (.350) with a 1.013 OPS...After going 3-for-32 in his previous 10 games, Mookie Betts is 4-for-8 in his last two....Rafael Devers is hitting .303 (10-for-33 with a .378 OBP in his last 10 games...Chavis will make his first start in the big leagues this afternoon, playing second base, which he's played just four times in the minor leagues....Vazquez has three homers and eight RBI over his last five games with an at-bat...David Price is 4-1 with a 1.59 ERA in his last nine games against the Rays...He ranks second in Tropicana Field history with 37 wins, 91 starts, 623.1 innings and 603 strikeouts...He has an 0.93 ERA in his last five games at the Trop...Kevin Kiermaier is 4-for-17 against Price lifetime while Willie Adames is 0-for-6...No Red Sox player has more than three career at-bats against Tyler Glasnow...Martinez is 1-for-2 lifetime with a solo homer as his only hit.