All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 5-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
BOX SCORE
HEADLINES
Crazy fourth inning does in Sox: In the fourth inning, Tropicana Field turned into the Red Sox' House of Horrors. The Sox got two quick outs before, on a 3-and-2 pitch that appeared to be a strike, Yoshi Tsutsugo worked a walk. Joey Wendle then singled, but when Nathan Eovaldi got Hunter Renfroe to pop up to the left side. Rafael Devers drifted over and appeared ready to catch a foul popup to get Eovaldi out of the inning. But the ball struck one of the catwalks in Tropicana Field and caromed away from Devers -- in play, but foul. Given another life, Renfroe then slammed a double to center, scoring two runs. "It certainly changed things, no question,'' said Ron Roenicke. "But that's part of the game. When you're going good, those things don't happen that often. And obviously, we're not going good and you don't seem to get the breaks.''
Roenicke inclined to stick with struggling players: A number of Red Sox outfielders are struggling. Jackie Bradley Jr. snapped an 0-for-20 slump in the ninth with an infield single, but is unquestionably in one of his patented slumps. At the top of the lineup, Andrew Benintendi is just 2-for-29 for the season, and one of those two hits was a bunt. So, 12 games in, he has one full-swing hit for the season. He was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts Tuesday night. "We'll continue to switch guys,'' said Roenicke. "But these guys that we know can hit, we've got to play them to get them going. So yes, I could sit them a game, but I really wouldn't want to do more than that just because I know what they can do to help this offense and when those guys are doing what I know they can. To sit them for a while doesn't help that much. I don't mind sitting them for a game. But if you sit them longer than that, then all of a sudden, what they've been working on, you can't see that transition into game and get it going.''
Innings fly by: The Red Sox managed a run in the first, had two hits in both the second and third innings -- and then seemingly went to sleep for the next five innings. From the fourth through the eighth, the Red Sox managed exactly one hit -- a one-out double by J.D. Martinez in the sixth. In three other innings, the Red Sox went down in a hurry, retired 1-2-3. They finally scraped together three straight hits in the ninth and twice brought the potential tying run to the plate before both Jose Peraza and Andrew Benintendi took called third strikes for the final two outs in the game. Included in the five-inning stretch were six strikeouts. "As a whole, certainly the better pitchers you see, you're going to chase more,'' said Roenicke. All teams go through slumps from time-to-time, but there are times the Red Sox lineup looks overmatched, and trailing by multiple runs, sometimes a little disinterested.
TURNING POINT
This one isn't hard - Devers was camped under what would have been the final out of the fourth inning. But when the ball struck a catwalk near the Tropicana Field, it caromed away from Devers and extended the inning, resulting in two runs.
TWO UP
J.D. Martinez: After slumping last week, Martinez has started to come alive at the plate. Tuesday night, he hard a lineout in his first trip before stroking two doubles.
Mitch Moreland: Moreland continues to supply power, belting a solo homer in the first to account for the only Red Sox of the night.
TWO DOWN
Jackie Bradley: Although he saved a run with a diving catch in the third, Bradley was hitless at the plate in his first three at-bats and has just one hit in his last 21 at-bats.
Andrew Benintendi: For the second straight year, Benintendi is struggling in the leadoff spot. He was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"The rules get all mixed up here ... but it's definitely frustrating, to say the least.'' Nathan Eovaldi on the crazy fourth inning.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Dating back to last season, the Red Sox are 1-8 in their last tries against Tampa Bay.
- The Red Sox starting rotation has a 7.07 ERA through 11 games.
- Since Opening Day, the Red Sox have a minus-26 run differential.