ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. --- Those suggesting the Red Sox are incapable of besting the Rays down the stretch might want to think again.
Boston has played better than .600 baseball over its last 74 games. Tampa Bay is five games under .500 in its last 49.
Two teams going in opposite directions met against Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, and they’re now tied for second place in the American League East. The Red Sox did all the little things and held on tight in the [...]
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. --- Those suggesting the Red Sox are incapable of besting the Rays down the stretch might want to think again.
Boston has played better than .600 baseball over its last 74 games. Tampa Bay is five games under .500 in its last 49.
Two teams going in opposite directions met against Tuesday night at Tropicana Field, and they’re now tied for second place in the American League East. The Red Sox did all the little things and held on tight in the bottom of the ninth inning in a 5-4 victory over the Rays, reaching 10 games over .500 for the first time in 2019.
It wouldn’t be this version of Boston without some late drama. Brandon Workman fell one out shy of a six-out save, eventually loading the bases in the ninth. Ji-Man Choi’s single up the middle made it a two-run game and Tommy Pham drew a bases-loaded walk against Marcus Walden to put the potential winning run at second base. Austin Meadows bounced to first to end his 13-game hitting streak and the game, as Walden was credited with his second save.
The dominance shown by the Red Sox on the road borders on the inexplicable. Boston has won all five games against Tampa Bay here this season and 17 of its last 21 away from Fenway Park against all opponents. Christian Vazquez crushed a pinch-hit solo home run leading off the top of the seventh to give the Red Sox the lead for keeps.
Vazquez jumped on an 0-and-1 fastball from left-hander Colin Poche and deposited it into the boxes in left, snapping a 2-2 tie. Boston pinch hitters improved to 21-for-56 with 10 extra-base hits after the decisive swing from Vazquez, including five home runs. Andrew Benintendi’s infield out and a hit-by-pitch from Jackie Bradley Jr. tacked on two more insurance runs in the eighth.
The Red Sox offense came out roaring against Yonny Chirinos, who limited Boston to just two hits over eight innings on June 7. It took the Red Sox five batters to eclipse that number in this one, as singles by Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez gave Boston a two-out threat. Devers scampered home on a wild pitch and Benintendi stung an RBI single to center, giving the visitors a 2-0 lead.
Three particular at-bats by the Rays forced Chris Sale to labor after retiring the first eight men he faced. Mike Zunino fell behind 0-and-2 before grinding out a nine-pitch walk, as Sale allowed a hitter who entered 0-for-13 against him to reach safely. Travis d’Arnaud followed by sending a hanging slider down the line in left, a two-run homer that knotted the game at 2-2.
Tommy Pham finished off a 12-pitch at-bat with a two-out double in the fifth, and Sale’s outing appeared to be done at 102 pitches when Austin Meadows bounced to second. Sale was sent back out for the sixth and found himself in a conference with Alex Cora after Mike Brosseau fanned for the second out. Sale remained in the game and retired Guillermo Heredia on a soft liner to short, putting himself in line for the win.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25