All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Rays, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Rays take advantage: It's not easy to score eight runs on just five hits, but the Rays managed to do just that -- with considerable help from the Red Sox. Sox pitchers issued four walks and hit three other Tampa Bay batters, providing the Rays with more baserunners than the Rays provided for themselves. Of those seven gift baserunners, five came around to score as the Sox gifted them one scoring chance after another. When the Boston pitchers weren't handing out free passes, the defense was making a series of costly misplays -- some charged as errors, others not -- that manifested itself most obviously in the six-run Tampa Bay third inning. Perhaps the eight runs shouldn't have come as much of a shock, since the Rays own the highest-scoring offense in either league, and the fact that the Sox were forced to start Brad Peacock, who last pitched in the big leagues in 2019. Peacock lasted just 2.1 innings and was charged with five runs.
Sox lose Bogaerts, too: As bad as the loss was, amazingly, it wasn't the worst news of the night for the Red Sox. That came as the game was heading into the bottom of the second inning, when Alex Cora signaled Xander Bogaerts at short and summoned him to the dugout, informing him that testing done earlier had revealed that Bogaerts had tested positive for COVID-19. The Sox finished the night with Jonathan Arauz at short, and, with Kike Hernandez already on the COVID-IL, the team's options will be limited at the position. But the impact of being without Bogaerts for the next 10 days or so is almost incalculable. Bogaerts is the team's steadiest and most consistent player, and often the club's No. 3 hitter or cleanup hitter. He's also grown into a leader off the field in the last two seasons. The losses to the bullpen were already a big hit, but being forced to go the next week and a half without Bogaerts could have devastating consequences, given the importance of the position he plays and his overall value to the team.
TURNING POINT
A simply brutal third inning did in the Red Sox. It began when Alex Verdugo made a poor throw after catching a fly ball in deep center, enabling two baserunners to advance. Soon after came a poor throw from Hunter Renfroe that cutoff man Bobby Dalbec couldn't glove, sending the ball rolling toward the Red Sox dugout and enabling another run to score. Lastly, Renfroe and second baseman Yairo Munoz allowed a fly ball to right to drop in between them when neither called the other off, as two more runs scored. It was a nightmarish inning that effectively handed the game to the home team with six innings still remaining.
ONE UP
Kyle Schwarber: After going without a hit in each of his two previous games, Schwarber had a single, walk and homer in five plate appearances.
TWO DOWN
Bobby Dalbec: Dalbec had a single in four trips, but also was charged with an error when he couldn't catch a cutoff throw and later allowed a single between his legs.
Alex Verdugo: He was hitless in four plate appearances and his lazy, off-target throw in the third helped pave the way for the Rays' big inning.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"Obviously, Xander is the leader of the team, he's one of the best shortstops, if not the best shortstop in the league and we're going to miss him. But we've got to keep going '' Alex Cora on losing Xander Bogaerts due to a positive COVID test.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The single by Kyle Schwarber in the ninth inning was the 500th hit of his career.
* After winning their first game at Tropicana Field this season, the Red Sox have lost the last seven straight there.
* Hunter Renfroe served as the Red Sox' leadoff hitter for just the first time this season.
* Schwarber's homer gave the Red Sox at least one homer in nine consecutive games, a season high.
UP NEXT: The Red Sox and Rays play the third game of their series Wednesday at 7:10 p.m., with LHP Chris Sale (3-0, 2.35) vs. RHP Drew Rasmussen (1-1, 3.46)