The Red Sox lost to the Tampa Bay Rays 7-4. Here are three things we learned:
1. The loss seemed like two separate games.
The night began well enough for the Red Sox. They took a 1-0 lead in the second, went up 2-0 in the third and then doubled the lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth. Stater Jhoulys Chacin didn't allow a hit through the first three innings, and it seemed like the Red Sox -- not the Rays -- were the ones with something to play for. Despite being in the middle of the wild card race, the Rays appeared to be flat and going through the motions. But in the bottom of the fourth, the game flipped in a hurry. After Chacin got the first out of the inning, but then began leaving pitches over the middle of the plate. The Rays smacked three homers in the inning -- a three-run shot by Ji-Man Choi, a solo shot from Nate Lowe and a two-run belt by Willy Adames -- and took the lead for good. Meanwhile, the Red Sox offense then shut down for the rest of the night. From the fifth inning through the eighth, the Sox managed just one baserunner.
2. Mookie Betts has a throw for the ages.
In the sixth inning, with Choi on second after a leadoff double, Avisail Garcia drove a pitch from Hector Velazquez and rifled it into the right-field corner. Choi scored easily from second and it appeared as though Garcia would have himself a triple. But Betts played the carom off the wall in right and came up throwing, firing a rocket -- on a line -- to third baseman Rafael Devers, who slapped the tag on a sliding Garcia. ''I've never seen a throw from that far, right on the money,'' marveled Alex Cora. "It was a good one. It was impressive.'' The throw was later measured at 305 feet, and frankly, couldn't have been better executed. Teammate Jackie Bradley Jr. likes to show off his powerful throwing arm in center, but sometimes can be erratic. Betts is less flashy, but his throws are often more accurate. Both he and Bradley are now tied for third among American League outfielders with 10 assists.
Testing Mookie?
We don't recommend it. pic.twitter.com/bqlEo7P25V
β Red Sox (@RedSox) September 24, 2019