All you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' loss to the Rays, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINE
Story's flub costly: On Friday night, second baseman Trevor Story helped save the day with two terrific plays at second, as the Sox protected a one-run lead. It was a very different ending Saturday, however. With the Tampa Bay Rays down to their final out and a runner on third, Taylor Walls hit a grounder to Story, shaded toward second base. Story made the play, then appeared to stumble some. As he regained his balance, he pulled his throw to the right field side of first base, skipping past first baseman Bobby Dalbec. There were bound to be growing pains for Story in adapting to a new position, but he's made two errors in the last two nights -- both on throws. Dalbec, though, wasn't blameless, as he was positioned on the home plate side of the bag and unable to stretch and reach the throw, which bounded past him, allowing a run to score. The next batter, Kevin Kiermaier, lined a two-run, walkoff homer into the first few rows in right field, stunning the Sox with a 3-2 win.
Rebounding after nine: For the first nine innings, the Red Sox were held without a hit by a tag team of Rays pitchers. Six different Tampa Bay pitchers combined to hold the Sox without so much as a single, and the Sox seemed in danger of being no-hit for the first time since Sean Manaea, then of Oakland, blanked them early in the 2018 season. In the 10th inning, however, the Sox' offense came to life. With Jackie Bradley Jr. on board as the automatic runner in extra innings, Bobby Dalbec drove a triple to right that just eluded the diving effort by Rays outfielder Brett Phillips, giving the Sox a 1-0 lead. It marked the first base hit of the season for Dalbec with a baserunner in scoring position. Christian Vazquez then followed with a sacrifice fly. The Sox seemed poised to win a game with just two hits -- Story singled with two outs in the 10th -- but the error cracked the door back open for the Rays in the bottom of the inning and they took full advantage.
Whitlock stars in starting role: Making his first major league start, Garrett Whitlock was every bit as impressive as he's been pitching out of the bullpen. Whitlock tossed four shutout innings and allowed just one hit, while fanning seven, including a stretch that saw him strike out four in a row and six of eight. The lone hit off him -- a leadoff double to left by Brandon Lowe -- was wasted when he retired the next three hitters and didn't allow Lowe to advance from second base. Also impressive was the fact that he was efficient, needing just 48 pitches to get through four innings. Whitlock will now return to his relief role, but he demonstrated to the Sox that if he's needed in the rotation again, he can thrive there, too
TURNING POINT
Even though they had no hits until the 10th inning, the Red Sox weren't without some scoring opportunities. In both the third and fourth innings, the Sox used three walks and a Rays error to give themselves two on and two out. But both times, they failed to produce the big two-out necessary to get on the scoreboard. In innings three through five, each frame ended with the Sox stranding a baserunner in scoring position.
TWO UP
Kutter Crawford: Rebounding from a poor outing in his last appearance, the rookie righthander gave the Red Sox three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out five.
Christian Vazquez: Though he didn't have a hit, he got robbed of one by Wander Franco and later supplied a sacrifice fly in the 10thm while also doing a nice job calling the game.
TWO DOWN
Rafael Devers: For just the third time since the start of the season, Devers was without a hit, going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
Kike Hernandez: Hernandez continues to look lost at the plate. He did work a walk in the fourth, but was otherwise 0-for-3 on the night and is batting just .172 for the season.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"Just a bad throw. I probably had a little more time than I thought. But that's just on me. That's all on me, for sure.'' Trevor Story on his costly 10th inning throwing error.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The loss was the first for the Sox without allowing an earned run since a defeat to the same Tampa Bay Rays last June 24.
* The defeat was the was only the fourth in Red Sox history in which they lost in extra innings after allowing three hits or fewer.
* Until Dalbec's triple, the Red Sox had gone 13 straight innings without a hit, dating back to the sixth inning Friday night.
* Red Sox middle infielders have combined to make four errors in the last two games.
* Although they were all unearned runs off him, Hansel Robles saw his scoreless streak come to an end after 20 straight outings, dating back to August.
* The Sox are 0-2 in extra inning games this season, with both losses coming on the road.
UP NEXT
The Red Sox and Rays play the final game of their weekend series at 1:10 with LHP Rich Hill (0-1, 7.00) facing off against LHP Shane McClanahan (0-1, 2.40)