Hunter Renfroe did it all.
Renfroe added to his assist total by throwing out two baserunners -- one at second, and another at third for the final out of the game -- and in between, clubbed a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, to send the Red Sox to a 2-1 victory.
The Sox got seven shutout innings from Nathan Eovaldi before the bullpen took over. After Josh Taylor and Garrett Richards combined to give up a run in the eighth, Hansel Robles earned the save in the ninth.
WHO: Red Sox (79-62) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (88-51)
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
SEASON SERIES TO DATE: TB 11-7
SERIES TO DATE: TB 2-0
STARTING PITCHERS: RHP Nathan Eovaldi (10-8, 3.73) vs. LHP Shane McClanahan (9-5, 3.76)
TV/RADIO: NESN; WEEI-FM 93.7
LINEUPS
RAYS
Lowe 2B
Franco SS
Cruz 1B
Meadows LF
Choi 1B
Margot CF
Wendle 3B
Lowe RF
Zunino C
RED SOX
Hernandez CF
Renfroe RF
Martinez DH
Devers 3B
Dalbec 1B
Plawecki C
Santana LF
Iglesias SS
Arauz 2B
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
T9: Renfroe finishes with a flourish, backing up a ball that got by a diving Danny Santana and throwing a strike to nail Joey Wendle trying for third for the game's final out.
B8: Renfroe goes deep over everything in left for his 27th homer, scoring Kyle Schwarber (fielder's choice) ahead of him and giving the Red Sox their first lead of the night.
T8: Bullpen allows a run in a scoreless game. Infield single by Brandon Lowe off Josh Taylor, then, with Garrett Richards on, a walk to Wander Franco and a run-scoring single to Nelson Cruz scores the first run of the game.
T7: In tonight's performance, the part of Keith Hernandez will be played by Bobby Dalbec. Back-to-back highlight plays at first, with a couple of diving stops on hot smashes, turned into outs.
T5: After a strange sequence in the third in which he walked two in the span of three hitters, Eovaldi has settled in a groove, fanning six of the next eight Tampa Bay batters.
T5: Josh Lowe, making his MLB debut, collects his first hit -- a 40-foot swinging bunt that Eovaldi feels, but holds onto.
T4: Absolute pea from Hunter Renfroe, who cuts down Margot trying to stretch a single into a double. That's 15 assists for Renfroe.
B3: Really solid, hard contact by two Red Sox hitters in a row. But Manuel Margot tracks down a shot by J.D. Martinez and catches it up against the Red Sox bullpen and Rafael Devers hits one on the screws, but directly at Austin Meadows in left.
T3: On a liner seemingly headed for the Wall, Kike Hernandez ranges over from center and makes a nice running catch on the warning track to take extra bases away from Wander Franco.
T2: When it comes to defensive runs saved, Red Sox pitchers rank near the bottom of the league this year. But Nate Eovaldi comes sprinting off the mound to field a soft comebacker by Joe Wendle and makes a strong throw to first to record the out.
WHAT's UP: The Red Sox have lost each of their last 3 games following a 4-game winning streak...They are 9-6 in their last 15 games...The Sox are in a stretch of playing a game on 17 consecutive days from 8/23-9/8 (9-7 so far). Each of the Sox’ next 7 games is against a team that entered today with a winning record (TB-1, CWS-3, SEA-3)...The Sox’ 12 games prior to today were also against teams that entered today with a winning record (went 6-6 in those games). ...Nathan Eovaldi leads the majors in BB/9.0 IP (1.61) and BB% (4.3)...He also ranks among AL leaders in SO/BB (2nd, 5.82), HR/9.0 IP (2nd, 0.80), WHIP (9th, 1.17), and ERA (11th, 3.73). Since the beginning of 2020, Eovaldi has made 36 starts, going 14-10 with a 3.73 ERA and 1.18 WHIP... This season, he has recorded a career-high 163 SO....The Red Sox are 2-3 this homestand, but 9-5 in their last 14 home games and 24-12 (.667) in their last 36 (since 6/14)...Overall, their .597 win % at home ranks 8th in MLB. The Sox lead MLB at home in runs per game (5.79), also leading the AL in AVG (.279), and OPS (.828). In their last 16 home games, the Sox have scored 129 runs (8.06 per game) and hit 31 HR... The Sox lead MLB with 35 HR with at least 2 runners on base (32 three-run, 3 grand slams). The Sox rank 4th in the AL with 188 HR...The Sox have hit 4+ HR in a game 13 times, tied for the most in MLB this season and the 2nd-most of any season in franchise history (15 times in 1977)....The Red Sox lead the majors in 2-strike RBI (292), 48 more than any other team. With 2 strikes, the Sox also lead MLB in XBH (177) and the AL in HR (74), including an MLB-best 18 HR in 0-2 counts. The Sox lead the majors in runs scored with 2 outs (295)...With RISP & 2 outs, they lead the majors in AVG (.267) and OPS (.843). ...From the No. 9 spot in the batting order, the Red Sox lead the majors in HR (17) and XBH (45)...Half of those 17 HR have come in the Sox’ last 24 games. The Sox have hit more than 17 HR from the No. 9 spot in the order only twice: 2003 (24) and 2011 (18)... They also hit 17 in 1999. ...The Red Sox lead the majors in doubles (292) and XBH (499) and rank 4th in runs per game (5.08), 3rd in AVG (.261), 2nd in SLG (.448), and 3rd in OPS (.776). The Sox own MLB’s 7th-best record when scoring 4+ runs (.805, 70-17)...They have scored 10+ runs 18 times (T-2nd in MLB) and 15+ runs 3 times (T-2nd in MLB). ...The Red Sox feature 5 players with at least 50 XBH, most in the majors: Rafael Devers (68), J.D. Martinez (64), Hunter Renfroe (55), Xander Bogaerts (53), and Kiké Hernández (50). Each of those 5 players has at least an .800 OPS...The Sox are 1 of 4 teams to feature at least 5 qualified players with an .800+ OPS (also HOU, CIN, and LAD). ...Bobby Dalbec homered twice last night after entering at 3B in the 8th...It was his 3rd career multiHR game, all this season (also 8/14 vs. BAL, 8/26 vs. MIN). Dalbec ranks among AL leaders since the All-Star break (min. 100 PA) in SLG (3rd, .636) and OPS (4th, 1.016) while batting .297 (17th) with a .368 OBP (12th). ...Devers ranks among the top 10 in MLB in RBI (3rd, 101), HR (T-7th, 33), doubles (T-6th, 34), XBH (3rd, 68), and total bases (6th, 275). Devers is the 13th player to record multiple 30/100 seasons with the Sox, but only the 2nd to do so before turning 25 years old (also Ted Williams). Devers’ 33 HR this season are the 4th-most by a Sox player in a season before turning 25, trailing Jim Rice (39 in 1977) and Williams (37 in 1941, 36 in 1942).... Hunter Renfroe ranks among the top 10 in the AL since the start of May in SLG (7th, .549), OPS (10th, .884), RBI (9th, 75), doubles (T-6th, 27), and XBH (7th, 52). Renfroe has 26 HR and an MLB-leading 14 OF assists...He could become the 6th Sox player with 25+ HR and 15+ OF assists in the same season...The 5 to do so are Jason Bay (2009), Manny Ramirez (2005), Jim Rice (1983), Carl Yastrzemski (1969, ‘77), and Williams (1942). ...In 22 games with the Red Sox, Kyle Schwarber has a .325/.460/.550/1.010 batting line...He has reached base 46 times, the most by a player in their first 22 games with the Sox since Manny Ramirez in 2001 (49). Since returning from the IL on 8/13, Schwarber leads the AL (min. 75 PA) in OBP, ranking 12th in AVG, 16th in SLG, and 6th in OPS. A.L. ...The Red Sox have used 54 players this season, their 2nd-most in franchise history...The Sox used 56 players in 2012 and 55 in 2014. The Sox have used 35 pitchers, the most in a season in franchise history...That includes 4 position players (Araúz, Arroyo, Gonzalez, Plawecki). The Sox have used 31 true pitchers (excluding position players), the most in franchise history. 8 players have made their major league debut with the Red Sox this season: Bazardo, Crawford, Duran, Espinal, López, Sawamura, Whitlock, and Wong.
NOTES:
* Christian Arroyo and Martin Perez have reached Boston, though neither is ready to be activated from the COVID-Il. Both have testing, protocols and other issues. Perez, too, will probably need one rehab appearance for Worcester, which could come Thursday, making him ready for Friday and the start of a road trip in Chicago. A number of others -- including Xander Bogaerts, Matt Barnes, Hirokazu Sawamura -- are also expected in Chicago. "We have to make decisions based on how they feel, where they're at physically, and go from there,'' said Alex Cora. "It's not going to be easy. There's been some downtime. But at the same time, we hope everything goes well and we can have them sooner rather than later. We want these guys to be right. That's the most important thing. When we see them, we'll sit down with the coaching staff and medical staff and decide what we're going to do.''
* Cora said the team will use Tanner Houck Friday, TBD Saturday and Chris Sale on Sunday. Saturday will be Nick Pivetta, currently on the COVID-IL, if he gets cleared in time. Otherwise, the Sox will choose from among Connor Seabold and Kutter Crawford.
* Both Alex Verdugo and Kyle Schwarber were given the night off.