Connelly Early burned by long ball again, Red Sox bats silenced in 3-1 loss to Rays

The Red Sox offense was virtually non-existent Monday night.

Opening a three-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field, Boston managed just four hits and was held to one hit over three innings by opener Ian Seymour in a 3-1 loss.

Not only did the offense stay silent all night, but Connelly Early was once again victimized by the long ball.

The rookie left-hander fell behind 1-0 immediately when Rays leadoff hitter Yandy Díaz launched a solo home run to open the bottom of the first inning.

It continued a troubling trend for Early, who has now surrendered 12 home runs over his last 10 starts after not allowing a single homer through his first eight career outings, including last year’s postseason.

Coupled with the home run issues, Early was erratic on the mound, hitting a batter and walking four in the loss. The southpaw worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out six.

Early escaped trouble in the third after issuing back-to-back walks to open the inning. The rookie left-hander responded by getting Jonathan Aranda to bounce into a double play before retiring Ben Williamson on a grounder to third, stranding the remaining runner and keeping the game tied.

Two innings later, Aranda got to Early. With two outs and a runner on third in the fifth, Early left a four-seam fastball over the plate and Aranda lined it the other way into left field for a go-ahead RBI single, giving Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead.

The southpaw generated 14 swings and misses, including five with his four-seam fastball, five with his sinker, two with his changeup and two with his sweeper. He threw 96 pitches, 54 for strikes, but elevated pitch counts and a lack of command prevented him from pitching deeper into the game.

“(I) didn’t do a good enough job, spraying the ball too much,” Early told reporters. “I think I was just trying to execute the outer rail, and I didn’t do a good enough job. … Left a lot of game up for the bullpen to solve, and that’s a tough job, to expect them to go four-plus innings.”

Hard-throwing right-hander Tyron Guerrero kept Boston within striking distance, allowing one hit and striking out two over 1 1/3 scoreless innings after replacing Early. 

The rest of the bullpen wasn’t quite as sharp. Greg Weissert, whose struggles with inherited runners have been well-documented this season, entered the game in the eighth with a clean slate and still found trouble. The right-hander allowed a one-out single to Junior Caminero and then walked pinch hitter Victor Mesa Jr., prompting Chad Tracy to go back to his bullpen.

Danny Coulombe was summoned to extinguish the threat and needed just five pitches to do it. The veteran left-hander induced a pair of harmless fly balls to left field, ending the inning and preventing Tampa Bay from adding to its lead.

The Rays went ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI sac fly to center field by Díaz against recently recalled lefty Alec Gamboa. The run was charged to Coulombe, who walked two batters before Gamboa replaced him.

The Red Sox managed just one run all night, and it came courtesy of rookie shortstop Marcelo Mayer.

Mayer provided Boston’s lone offensive highlight in the third inning, launching a solo home run 401 feet into the right-field seats with an exit velocity of 103.3 mph. The blast was his third of the season and his first since May 15, briefly tying the game at 1-1.

Unfortunately for Boston, that was about all the offense it could muster.

The Red Sox had an opportunity to break through in the seventh inning when Willson Contreras was hit by a pitch and Mickey Gasper followed with a single to put runners on first and second with one out.

But the rally quickly fizzled after Caleb Durbin struck out for the second out, and after a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position, Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out to third base to end the threat.

“We took some scattered good at-bats during the game, but just didn’t create a lot of opportunities for ourselves,” Tracy told reporters. “They used a lot of lefty (pitching) today, and some good ones, too. So, matched up the whole way, and you’re just hoping you can create something and maybe load the bases or something, put them in a spot where the lane doesn’t work for them after that, and we just weren’t able to do it.”

Rays catcher Nick Fortes also put on a clinic with the Automated Ball-Strike system.

Fortes successfully won all four of his ABS challenges against home plate umpire Alan Porter. Two of those overturned calls resulted in strikeouts, flipping Ball 3 into Strike 3 against Durbin in the seventh inning and Andruw Monasterio in the eighth.

Fortes entered the night as one of only six American League catchers with at least 30 successful ABS challenges and added to that total with another flawless performance.

The loss continued several troubling trends for the Red Sox. Boston fell to 7-27 when allowing the first run of the game and is now 4-31 when trailing after six innings, 1-31 when trailing after seven and 0-34 when behind entering the ninth.

The Red Sox will try to even the series Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. Rookie left-hander Payton Tolle (3-2, 2.28 ERA) is scheduled to start for Boston opposite Rays right-hander Nick Martinez (5-2, 2.29 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m.

Red Sox Notes

The Red Sox made a roster move prior to Monday night’s series opener, recalling utilityman Nate Eaton from Triple-A Worcester and optioning left-hander Joe La Sorsa.

Eaton has put together a strong season with the WooSox, hitting .283 with five home runs, 11 doubles, two triples, 22 RBIs, eight stolen bases and 31 runs scored. His ability to play multiple positions gives Boston additional flexibility off the bench.

Tampa Bay entered the series carrying four left-handed relievers on its active roster, creating a need for another right-handed bat. Eaton gives Tracy a player capable of pinch-hitting late in games while also providing speed and defensive versatility.

“It gives you a runner; he can run,” Tracy said before the game. “He’s a good defender. You guys are all well aware that he’s pretty good against left-handed pitching. So if you get any of those situations, he can help you out. So having that available to us, particularly the running thing, you don’t necessarily have to use four pinch hitters during the game, but you have the speed there. So he gives a skill set that we can use.”

La Sorsa, who was acquired from the Pirates ahead of last weekend’s series against the Yankees, made just one appearance for Boston before being optioned back to Triple-A Worcester. The lefty entered Sunday’s game in the eighth inning with the Red Sox trailing 3-1 and two runners on base with two outs.

His first pitch in a Red Sox uniform didn’t go as planned. Yankees star Jazz Chisholm Jr. crushed the offering into the right-field seats for a three-run homer, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Garrett Whitlock is expected to be activated from the injured list Tuesday after missing time with a left knee issue. The veteran right-hander has been one of Boston’s most reliable relievers this season and should immediately slot back into a high-leverage role.

“We’ve got Whit likely tomorrow and then we have to decide on what we’re gonna do with the starter,” Tracy said. “So it just felt like at least for the next couple days we get an extra bat to have on the bench, it’d be helpful.”

The Red Sox will likely need to make another roster move Wednesday as they continue reshaping their pitching staff.

With Brayan Bello optioned to Triple-A Worcester, left-hander Jake Bennett appears to be the most logical candidate to fill the vacant rotation spot. Bennett has been dominant with the WooSox this season, posting a 1.60 ERA across nine starts while already making two appearances for Boston earlier this year.