Red Sox sting Rays behind two-homer game from Marcelo Mayer; Boston completes late-night trade for reliever

This week, the focus has primarily been on the young players of the Red Sox.

Top prospect Roman Anthony was called up and made his Major League debut on Monday, notching his first career hit the following day, a two-run double into left field, with his family in the stands.

In the series finale on Wednesday night, his teammate and close friend, Marcelo Mayer, recorded his first multi-homer game, belting two solo blasts into the right field seats in the Red Sox’ 4-3 win over the Rays.

Mayer obliterated a first-pitch slider from Rays starter Zack Littell to lead off the bottom of the second inning for his first homer at Fenway Park.

“Effortless,” said manager Alex Cora. “He’s not trying. Obviously trying to hit the ball hard. But he’s able to go the other way... It’s a complete at-bat.”

Two innings later, he hit a splitter left in the middle of the zone 410 feet for his second home run of the game.

“It’s always better to hit a homer at home than on the road,” Mayer said following the game. “I’d much rather get cheered than booed. It was awesome. I love this place. I love the energy Fenway Park brings, so it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

“To get the first one at home was special. Then to get the second one, anytime you can help the team out offensively means a lot.”

Mayer now has his three home runs in his first 15 games in the majors.

“The process always stays the same,” he said. “I feel more comfortable every single day I’m here. Obviously, a little bit of adjustments I’ve made have helped me be a little bit more on time.”

Mayer entered Wednesday night’s game hitting just .225 with four extra-base hits, 11 strikeouts, and a .670 OPS through 44 MLB plate appearances. This season, Boston's offense has experienced occasional power outages. Mayer’s two homers and Jarren Duran’s leadoff shot, along with Abraham Toro’s solo dinger, were all the offense the Sox needed against Tampa Bay.

“It’s important,” said Cora. “We can talk about putting the ball in play with men in scoring position or walking or running the bases well. In this league, that plays. When you hit homers, it’s a lot easier.

“They had a good game plan going into it, and they executed. We were very aggressive early in counts. Jarren hit it in the air; he (Marcelo) hit it in the air. It was a good day for the offense.”

Mayer is now 5-for-12 with a double and three homers in his last six games. He’s also been looking strong over at the hot corner.

Mayer and Anthony both earned praise from designated hitter Rafael Devers.

“They’ve been great. They’ve made us better,” Devers said Wednesday night in his first comments since May 17. “It helps us a lot to have them in the lineup. It helps me, too.”

SIX STRONG INNINGS

Walker Buehler (5-4) allowed three earned runs on six hits over seven frames. He walked one and struck out seven. The veteran had been struggling on the mound over his last two starts, allowing 10 earned runs on 17 hits over 7 2/3 innings.

“I put in a lot of work and started thinking about this differently,” Buehler said. “As weird as it sounds with the career that I’ve had, there’s a stubbornness of what I used to do.

“I tried to adapt a little bit and get the ball up and use a lot more of the [strike] zone than I had.”

Buehler was working with a 3-1 lead before he allowed a game-tying two-run homer to Yandy Diaz in the fifth inning. The lead lasted for just a few moments, as Toro belted his sixth career homer against the Rays to deep center to give the Sox the lead for good.

With a 4-3 lead, Buehler handed the ball over to the bullpen, where Greg Weissert struck out catcher Matt This swinging with a fastball to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman successfully shut down Tampa Bay, securing his 12th save in 13 attempts.

LATE NIGHT TRADE

The Red Sox swung a late-night trade on Wednesday following the win over the Rays to bolster their bullpen.

Boston acquired right-handed reliever Jorge Alcalá from the Twins for High-A outfielder Andy Lugo, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray.

To make room for Alcalá on the 40-man roster, the club designated right-handed pitcher Brian Van Belle for assignment. Van Belle had been promoted on Monday but did not appear in a game for the Red Sox. The organization will have seven days to trade, waive, or release him.

The former Twins reliever told Twins reporters at Target Field that he was traded to the Red Sox after he was pulled into the manager’s office following their game. Alcalá should join the Red Sox for their series opener on Friday night against the Yankees from Fenway Park.

The 29-year-old hurler owns an inflated 8.88 ERA (24 earned runs) in 24 1/3 innings this season. Alcalá, who looks like he could use a change of scenery, has some interesting underlying numbers, limiting hard contact (35.7%, 79th percentile), and has struck out 24.6% of batters with a fastball that averages at 96.9 mph, according to Statcast.

While in Minnesota, the hard-throwing righty has been utilized as a middle- or late-innings reliever and will join righties Zack Kelly and Luis Guerrero and lefties Brennan Bernardino and Justin Wilson in the Sox’ bullpen. Fellow righty relievers Garrett Whitlock and Weissert should continue to serve as setup options for closer Aroldis Chapman.

Alcalá has logged a 4.32 ERA in 166 games over parts of seven seasons with the Twins and had a 3.24 ERA in 54 games last year. He is earning $1.5 million this year and is arbitration-eligible.

Lugo, who the Red Sox signed out of the Dominican Republic for $10,000 in 2021, does not rank among Boston’s top 60 organizational prospects, according to SoxProspects. With High-A Greenville, the 21-year-old was off to a strong offensive start, boasting a.265 average, four home runs, 11 doubles, 20 RBI, and a.758 OPS in 44 games.

“Athletic, small frame without much projection,” per his SoxProspects’ scouting report. “Makes solid contact in the zone. Doesn't take a lot of pitches. Able to catch up with high velocity but struggles against spin. Minimal success against lefties. Below-average power. Above-average to plus speed and baserunning instincts. True utility player has spent time at first, second, and third, and corner outfield.”

Van Belle joined the Red Sox as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Miami in 2020. That was the year the draft was shortened to just five rounds. This season, Van Belle has played in 12 games, including eight starts, for the WooSox. He had gone 5-1 while recording a 2.29 ERA and striking out 41 batters in 51 innings.