Final: Rays 3, Red Sox 2

Going for the second sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field this season, the Red Sox couldn't finish the job, losing 3-2 to snap their two-game winning streak.

The Sox grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third when Rafael Devers shot a single through a drawn-in infield, but over the last six innings, the Sox managed just one hit. Charlie Morton went seven for the  Rays.

Meanwhile, the Rays cut into the lead with a solo homer from Tommy Pham in the fourth and run-scoring hits from Joey Wendle and Gil Heredia, all off David Price.

The Sox ended their six-game road trip at 3-3.

WHO : Red Sox (56-46) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (57-47)
WHEN: 12:10 p.m.
WHERE: Tropicana Field
SERIES TO DATE: Boston 2-0
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: Boston 6-5
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP David Price (7-3, 3.61) vs. RHP Charlie Morton (11-3, 2.61)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM

IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:

3:05   That whole lineup thing was embarrassing. Sox playing the game under protest. One pitch thrown in 20 minutes. Multiple get-togethers on the field. A call for help from the replay crew in New York. And naturally, Angel Hernandez in the middle of it.

2:31   After issuing a walk to fill the bases, Colten Brewer gets Pham on a chopper third, stranding three.

1:57    Red Sox have been unable to make a lot of hard contact against Charlie Morton -- the line double by Betts back in the second was the last well-struck ball they put in play.

1:49   Nicely turned 4-6-3 double play gets the Red Sox out of the inning -- exactly the kind that the Sox didn't turn in the ninth inning Tuesday night, which extended the inning and forced Brandon Workman to throw another 25 or so pitches.

1:38  Rays have beaten up Price's fastball this inning. connecting for three straight hits -- two for extra-bases -- and two runs to take their first lead of the afternoon.

1:31  One thing Price has done today is consistently gotten ahead.

1:12  Tommy Pham gets a changeup down and drives it out to left for the first Rays hit and first run.

12:51 Rafael Devers fights off a pitch and drives a soft grounder to the left side, and with the infield in, the ball snakes through the infield and scores two runs. That's 29 RBI for the month of July for Devers.

12:25 With Tommy Pham (walk, stolen base) in scoring position, David Price bears down and records back-to-back strikeouts -- both looking -- to end the Rays' threat.

LINEUPS



RED SOX

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

RAYS

d'Arnaud 1B
Pham LF
Meadows DH
Garcia RF
Duffy 3B
Brosseau 2B
Wendle SS
Heredia CF
Zunino C

WHAT'S UP: The Red Sox held on for dear life and escape with a 5-4 victory Tuesday night, their second straight win and fifth straight for them at Tropicana Field this season...The Sox improved to 10 games over .500 for the first time this season...The win also pushed the Red Sox past the Rays into second place in the A.L. East by a single percentage point...The last time the Sox were higher than third place in the division was March 30....The Sox succeeded in wiping out an eight-game deficit behind the Rays on June 12...Since that point, the Red Sox are 22-12 while the Rays are 16-22...All five of the Red Sox' pinch-hit homers -- like the one provided by Christian Vazquez Tuesday night -- have come on the road and from the seventh inning on...The Sox lead MLB with a .368 pinch-hitting average, along with a .719 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.165...Regardless of today's outcome, the Red Sox have already won the series and are now 9-3-1 in their last 13 series at Tropicana Field and 6-1 in the last seven...The Sox are 15-4 in their last 19 getaway games and 20-12 in series finales, including an 18-8 record in the last 26....Vazquez has already established career highs in homers (16), RBI (45), runs scored (44), extra-base hits (30) and walks (20)….Mookie Betts has reached base in 20 straight games and 36 of his last 37...After today, 19 of the Red Sox' next 26 games will be at home, including 14 of the next 18 and seven in a row...Andrew Benintendi has hit five hits and two RBI in his last two games...Xander Bogaerts has knocked in 18 runs in his last 15 games...Rafael Devers has hit in in four straight...Jackie Bradley is hitless in his last 11 at-bats...J.D. Martinez has five hits and four RBI in the first two games of the series...David Price was shelled for six earned runs in his last start after allowing a total of seven runs in his previous five starts combined...Price is 1-1 with a 2.65 ERA in three previous starts against the Rays this season...Avisail Garcia is 5-for-23 (.217) with 10 strikeouts against Price lifetime while Mike Zunino is 4-for-20 with 13 strikeouts.