Alll you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' win over the Rays, complete with BSJ analysis and insight:
HEADLINES
Grand slam a grand moment for Bogaerts: The Red Sox shortstop can opt out of his contract after the World Series and is widely expected to do so. If he does and signs elsewhere, his second-to-last game in a Red Sox uniform will remain a highly memorable one. After grounding out in the first and lining out to short in the third, Bogaerts came to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth and on a 1-0 curveball from Colin Poche, hammered one over the Monster Seats in left for a grand slam. As he rounded the bases, the crowd of a few thousand applauded while Bogaerts' teammates gathered at the top of the dugout to greet him. Bogaerts has been slumping of late. Only two weeks ago, he was in the thick of the race for the American League batting crown, but of late, he's struggled mightily. When he homered, he had been without a hit in his previous 12 at-bats and basically dropped out of the competition for the batting lead.
Eovaldi brilliant in final start of season: Like Bogaerts, Nate Eovaldi is headed to free agency with no guarantee that he'll return, having spent the last four and a half seasons in a Red Sox uniform. It'd been a mixed season for Eovaldi, who pitched well in the first few months, saw his performance dip, then had two IL stints (one for a hip injury, the other for shoulder inflammation) in the second half. Since returning from a second trip to the IL, Eovaldi's velocity was down and his effectiveness lessened. But for his final start, Eovaldi was sharper than he'd been in some time, allowing just two hits through five innings to go with two walks and four strikeouts. Twice in his final two innings, he managed to pitch out of trouble, escaping the fourth after opening the inning with back-to-back walks, them worked around a two-out double in the top of the fifth.
Cora salutes Judge: While the Red Sox were competing against the Rays, New York Yankee outfielder Aaron Judge his 62nd homer of the year against the Texas Rangers to become the American League single-season home run record holder. "A great season,'' said Alex Cora. "Right now, he's the ambassador for the game and he does it the right way. No red flags, just keep grinding. He's putting up one of the best seasons in the history of the game. He's the guy who carried that offense throughout the season. It was a very challenging year from Day One. He had the contact (situation). The spotlight was on him and he didn't shy away from it. He actually looked like he enjoyed it. He was amazing.''
TURNING POINT
Not much doubt about this one. Although the one run the Red Sox mustered in the second inning would have been enough, it was the grand slam by Bogaerts in the fifth that stretched the lead from one run to five. It was his 15th homer of the season and seventh career grand slam and was a reward for the fans who sat through the wind and rain.
TWO UP
Christian Arroyo: Following up his big two-run double in the series opener, Arroyo was 2-for-2 with two singles, an RBI and a run scored.
Connor Wong: Had a double to end an 0-for-14 skid.
TWO DOWN
Tommy Pham: Pham is slumping toward the finish line. He's without a hit in his last 14 at-bats, including strikeouts in all three of his plate appearances Tuesday night.
J.D. Martinez: There's still time Wednesday for one more big at-bat for Martinez, but it didn't come Tuesday. He fanned in his first two at-bats before drawing a walk in his final plate appearance.
QUOTE OF NOTE
"Sometimes, stuff is meant to be....I just kind of had a feeling everything was lined up -- two more games before the season ends. It was like something good was going to happen.'' Xander Bogaerts on his grand slam
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
* The Red Sox improved to 9-7-1 in their last 17 series.
* Four of Connor Wong's last seven hits have gone for extra bases.
* Since returning from the IL on July 30, Christian Arroyo is batting .325 with an .801 OPS and 22 RBI in his last 44 games.
* The scoreless start was the fourth of the season for Nathan Eovaldi.
* The win was the Sox' fifth straight at Fenway, tying their longest home winning streak of the season.
UP NEXT
The two teams conclude the regular season -- weather permitting, of course -- at 4:10 p.m. with RHP Nick Pivetta (10-12, 4.51) vs. RHP Drew Rasmussen (11-7, 2.84).