Blake Snell and two relievers limited the Red Sox to a single run, giving the Tampa Bay Rays a 6-1 victory and handing them the weekend series three games to one.
The Rays jumped to a quick 2-0 lea five batters in in the first inning with four singles and a sacrifice fly. The Rays then added four solo homers - one each by Yandy Diaz and Gil Heredia and two from Brandon Lowe -- to close out their scoring.
Eduardo Rodriguez, who last 5.2 innings, was tagged with his fourth loss of the season.
The lone Red Sox run came second on an RBI single from Marco Hernandez.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
WHEN: 1:05 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SERIES TO DATE: Tampa Bay 2-1
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: 4-4
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (6-3, 4.88) vs. LHP Blake Snell (3-5, 3.68)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
4:20 Red Sox have three hits since the second inning - a two-out double by Jackie Bradley in the fourth and two singles in the seventh.
3:28 Third solo homer of the day for the Rays -- this one off a hanging sinker from Marcus Walden, on his third pitch -- by Yandy Diaz.
3:04 That's it for Rodriguez, who leaves after 5.2 IP, leaving two runners on (both walks) for Heath Hembree. Rodriguez wasn't bad -- two solo homers after the two-run first -- but not nearly good enough when matched against Snell.
2:53 Four-seamer couldn't have been any more center-cut for Brandon Lowe, who crushes it over the Red Sox bullpen to lead off the sixth. Bradley gave it only a a cursory look as it sailed deep.
2:30 Situation hitting issues continue to dog the Red Sox, who have left four runners in scoring position stranded over the first four innings. They're 1-for-6 with RISP.
2:19 Following a rocky first inning that saw the Rays making consistently hard contact against him, Rodriguez has settled in and retired the last eight in a row and 11 of the last 12.
1:56 The Marco Hernandez Comeback story is a strong one. He's 3-for-6 with three RBI since being promoted from Pawtucket Saturday. Long road back - good for him.
1:43 Gil Heredia crushes a cutter left over the middle of the plate, hitting it over Monster Seats in left-center. Almost every ball has been hit hard off Rodriguez so far.
1:39 Red Sox had runners at first-and-second with no out -- and, eventually, second-and-third, thanks to a wild pitch -- but Snell strikes out the next three hitters to strand the runners.
1:30 Snell working at a snail's pace here in the first -- 40 or more seconds between pitches at times.
1:13 Four straight hits off Eduardo Rodriguez to open the game
1:10 Shows the respect the Sox have for Blake Snell that they have the infield in in the top of the third with a runner on third and one out.
LINEUPS:
RED SOX
Betts RF
Vazquez DH
Bogaerts SS
Chavis 1B
Nunez 3b
Travis LF
Bradley CF
Leon C
Hernandez 2B
RAYS
Diaz DH
Pham LF
Lowe 1B
Garcia RF
d'Arnaud
Adames SS
Arroyo 3B
Heredia CF
Robertson 2B
WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox split a day-night doubleheader Saturday and are now 5-2 in their last seven games, but just 12-12 in their last 24 games...David Price was the winning pitcher in the nightcap and is now 4-1 with a 1.88 ERA in his last nine starts...His last two wins have stopped losing streaks -- the first of which was four games, the second of which was two games....Saturday night was Price's 300th regular season start. Among the 14 active pitchers with that many career starts, Price has a 3.24 ERA, the lowest among A.L. pitchers and third lowest overall, behind only Max Scherzer (3.20) and Clayton Kershaw (2.41)….Price's teams are 188-112 (.627) on those starts...Price has had quality starts in two-thirds (200) of those...Since April 29, the Red Sox are first in the AL in runs per game (6.11) and lead the majors in OBP (.352)….Through the first 25 games, the Red Sox bullpen ERA was 4.99 - in the 40 games since, the bullpen ERA is 3.44, third lowest in the big leagues. The Red Sox relievers have also held opposing hitters to a .209 batting average, the lowest such figure among all teams...The Sox go into today with a 14-6 record is series finales and are 10-1 in their last 11 such contests...The Sox are 9-1 in Eduardo Rodriguez's last 10 starts. When the Sox give him at least three runs of support, they're 46-7 (.868) in his career, including 25-1 in the last 26 such games...Guillermo Heredia is 2-for-16 with five strikeouts lifetime against Rodriguez while Kevin Kiermaier is 1-for-9 with six strikeouts....Daniel Robertson is 2-for-5 and Yanny Diaz is 2-for-2...
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- J.D. Martinez rermains out of the lineup with back spasms, though he's improving. He's unavailable, but the Sox hope he could return to the lineup either Monday or Tuesday. Alex Cora said the Sox are ''not yet'' contemplating a backdated IL stint.
- Nathan Eovaldi, who was scheduled to throw a bullpen this weekend, is bothered by biceps tendinitis and for now is on hold.
- Mitch Moreland (quad) is "feeling better,'' and further testing isn't necessary at the time. He's been doing some work on the treadmill.
- Steve Pearce (back spasms) is ready to start baseball activities Monday.
- LHP Darwinzon Hernandez, who had his Portland start cut short after an inning Saturday night, is a candidate to start Tuesday vs. Texas.
- Rafael Devers is out of the lineup, hitless in his last 14 at-bats, needs to re-discover his strike zone discipline, according to Cora. Devers has drawn just three walks in his last 71 at-bats.
- Pawtucket will have three rehabbing pitchers appear today: Brian Johnson (elbow), Tyler Thornburg (hip) and Steven Wright (knee/PED suspension).