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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 2:37:45 GMT -5
Xander Bogaerts blasts 3-run homer, Boston Red Sox hold on to win despite eighth-inning bullpen meltdown
Published: Aug. 26, 2022, 10:42 p.m.
By
Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Red Sox reliever Ryan Brasier entered with a five-run lead in the eighth inning and didn’t record an out. He gave up leadoff walk, two singles and a 433-foot home run to Jose Siri.
Just like that, the Rays pulled within one run.
But Matt Barnes, who replaced Brasier, retired the next three batters (two strikeouts). Garrett Whitlock then pitched a perfect ninth as the Red Sox ended their four-game losing streak with a 9-8 victory over Tampa Bay here at Fenway Park.
Bogaerts’ blasts 3-run homer
Xander Bogaerts connected on a 96 mph fastball from Rays reliever Shawn Armstrong and sent it 386 feet over the Green Monster. He watched it go and then spiked his bat.
Bogaerts’ three-run homer in the sixth put the Red Sox ahead 8-4.
It marked his 11th home run this season. He had a two-hit game.
Kevin Plawecki went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. His RBI double in the fifth put the Red Sox ahead 5-4.
Kiké Hernández also recorded three hits, including the game-tying single in the fifth.
Cordero homers
Franchy Cordero wrapped a 356-foot solo homer around Pesky’s Pole off Rays left-handed reliever Ryan Yarbrough to cut the Red Sox’s deficit to 4-2 in the fourth inning. He has belted three home runs since returning from Triple-A Worcester on Sunday.
Bobby Dalbec pinch hit for Cordero his next at-bat against Yarbrough.
Wacha pitches 6 innings
Michael Wacha struggled early. He gave up a homer on the first pitch of the game and trailed 4-1 after three innings. But he allowed just one hit in his final three innings.
Wacha went 6 innings, giving up four runs, five hits (two homers) and one walk while striking out six.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 2:38:43 GMT -5
Brasier is just trash should of been cast put long ago
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 2:39:45 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox’s Xander Bogaerts on spiking bat after homer: ‘I was grinding up until that point’
Updated: Aug. 27, 2022, 1:38 a.m.|Published: Aug. 27, 2022, 12:02 a.m.
By
Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — Xander Bogaerts turned and spiked his bat after belting a 386-foot three-run homer over the Green Monster in the sixth inning Friday.
Bogaerts had connected on a 96 mph two-strike fastball inside from Rays reliever Shawn Armstrong. The ball left his bat at 100.1 mph.
“I was grinding up until that point the whole game,” Bogaerts said. “Obviously not feeling the way you want to. But you’ve still gotta compete.”
The Red Sox won 9-8 over the Rays here at Fenway Park to end a four-game losing streak.
“It felt real good, man,” Bogaerts said. “I’m not gonna lie. It felt real good. Off the bat, I kind of knew it.”
What made him slam down the bat?
“It’s everything,” Bogaerts said. “As I said, I was down in the count (1-2). I felt like I was swinging at strikes. It just wasn’t hitting my barrel. I felt like I had a hole in my bat for a minute. He missed in and I saw it good and I put a good swing on it.”
Bogaerts has had a solid season with a .372 on-base percentage and .820 OPS. But he has lacked home run power. His blast Friday was just his 11th this season.
His slugging percentage is down 45 points from last year and 107 points from 2019.
“It’s been a struggle,” manager Alex Cora said when asked about the emotion Bogaerts showed. “It’s been a struggle. He put some good swings today. In that at-bat, he let it loose. He got to a fastball and hit it in the air.”
Bogaerts said it wasn’t the first time he spiked his bat after a homer.
“The first one in a long time,” he said. “I remember in 2019, I did one against (Ross) Stripling, too. Hit a curveball. He had me crazy the whole game (with his) curveball. I ran into one. But tonight was a good one.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 2:40:52 GMT -5
Boston Red Sox roster moves expected Saturday: Trevor Story ‘most likely’ will be activated from IL
Updated: Aug. 27, 2022, 12:23 a.m.|Published: Aug. 27, 2022, 12:20 a.m.
By
Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com
BOSTON — A couple of roster moves are expected before the Boston Red Sox play their 4:10 p.m. game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
Trevor Story likely will be activated from the 10-day injured list.
The 29-year-old second baseman hasn’t appeared in a major league game since July 12 because of a small hairline fracture near his right wrist. He suffered the injury when he got hit by an 89 mph sinker from Rays’ Corey Kluber.
Story appeared in rehab games with Double-A Portland on Wednesday and Thursday. He was scheduled to play in another rehab game Friday but the Sea Dogs got rained out.
“He’ll be here tomorrow,” manager Alex Cora said about Story after Boston’s 9-8 win Friday. “We’ll take a look at him and most likely he’s going to be active tomorrow. He drove back (from Portland). I just talked to him. He’s ready to go. Just got to make sure everything checks in well in the morning and the hope is for him to play tomorrow.”
Story went 0-for-1 with a walk, run and RBI sacrifice fly Wednesday. He went 3-for-4 with a homer, RBI single, double and two runs Thursday.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 2:47:26 GMT -5
'He's the leader': Bogaerts jolts Red Sox with three-run blast 2:21 AM ADT Ian Browne
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne
BOSTON -- On the one-week anniversary of his eruption in Baltimore -- an eruption at an umpire -- Xander Bogaerts slammed his bat to the ground once again on Friday night.
This time, the circumstances were much different.
Boston’s star shortstop and veteran leader unloaded for the type of game-turning knock that had eluded him for weeks. As a three-run homer soared over the Green Monster and onto Lansdowne Street in the bottom of the sixth inning, Bogaerts stood and watched. And then he spiked his bat to the ground as if to say, “What took so long?”
It was the signature moment for the Red Sox in a come-from-behind, 9-8 victory over the Rays in the opener of a three-game series at Fenway Park.
“It felt real good. I’m not going to lie,” said Bogaerts. “It felt real good off the bat.”
As Bogaerts finished his trot around the bases, he bashed forearms with J.D. Martinez three times. In the dugout, he heartily high-fived his manager and his teammates after mashing his 11th homer of the season. Bogaerts entered the night with underwhelming numbers in August: a .219/.266/.356 line with two homers and five RBIs in 79 plate appearances.
“It’s been a struggle,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “He put together some good swings today. In that at-bat, he let it loose and he got to a fastball and hit it in the air, which is good.”
There is still time for Bogaerts to get hot again and bottle the swing that has led to so many great moments in his career.
“He’s the leader. He’s captain of this team and he’s a stud,” said winning pitcher Michael Wacha. “We need him to kind of play the way he plays and he’s a big part of our lineup whenever we’re going good.”
As everyone around the Red Sox knows, Bogaerts has looked more out of sorts than normal this season. It has been a combination of things, including his uncertain contract situation, the Aug. 1 trade of his close friend Christian Vázquez and the unusual grind for the fluidity in his batting stroke.
Bogaerts was again feeling the weight of trying to find his best swing in Friday’s game, which is why he savored the moment when he connected on a 1-2 fastball from reliever Shawn Armstrong and mashed it a Statcast-projected 386 feet.
“I was down in the count,” said Bogaerts. “I felt like I was swinging at strikes. It just wasn’t hitting my barrel. I felt like I had a hole in my bat for a minute. He missed in and I saw it good and put a good swing on it.”
It had been a tough start to this homestand for the Red Sox, enduring a three-game sweep by the Blue Jays, capped by an exasperating Thursday night finale in which they couldn’t get the go-ahead run home from third with nobody out in the eighth or ninth inning.
The night was pretty misery-inducing for a team that lost its fourth game in a row and fell to five games below .500.
On Friday, the Red Sox had reason to smile again. And not just because of Bogaerts. Wacha (9-1, 2.53 ERA) bounced back from giving up two homers and four runs over his first three innings to putting up three straight zeros to complete his six-inning performance.
And two players who hadn’t done much offensively this season -- Kiké Hernández and Kevin Plawecki -- started the comeback from down 4-1 by getting three hits apiece over the first five innings.
But the big blast was provided by Bogaerts, who increased the lead to 8-4 with one swing. That proved to be even bigger when reliever Ryan Brasier gave up four runs in the eighth, as Boston’s lead was slimmed to 9-8.
“That was huge right there,” said Wacha. “As you all know, we’ve been struggling here lately and just kind of not clicking as a team. That was huge right there to drive in guys in scoring position and come through with that big homer there.”
With Trevor Story expected to be activated from the injured list on Saturday, perhaps the Red Sox will at last start performing to their capabilities on offense.
“Like, I said, we trust these guys. They will hit at one point. They will,” said Cora. “For us to get on a real run, it has to be offensively. We will do enough pitching-wise, but we have to hit.”
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 2:48:48 GMT -5
Injuries & Moves: Story likely to return Saturday 1:50 AM ADT
Keep track of the Red Sox’s recent transactions and injury updates throughout the season. LATEST NEWS
Aug. 27: Trevor Story expected to be activated on Saturday The Red Sox are expected to get a big piece of their lineup back on Saturday with the activation of Story from the 15-day injured list. Story was supposed to play the third game of his Minor League rehab assignment on Friday night for Double-A Portland, but that game was rained out. However, Red Sox manager Alex Cora indicated that the club has seen enough from the second baseman to put him back in the lineup, effective immediately.
“He’ll be here tomorrow," Cora said after Friday's 9-8 win over the Rays. "We’ll take a look at him and most likely he’ll be active tomorrow. He’s ready to go. Just have to make sure everything checks in well in the morning, and the hope is for him to play tomorrow.”
RHP Nathan Eovaldi (right shoulder inflammation) Expected return: Sept. 3 at earliest Eovaldi took a big step on Aug. 26 when he threw a 25-pitch bullpen at Fenway Park. Eovaldi was placed on the 15-day IL on Aug. 23, retroactive to Aug. 19. The right-hander was scratched from his Aug. 18 start in Pittsburgh due to a sore trap muscle. Eovaldi last pitched on Aug. 12 against the Yankees, surrendering two runs over six innings. Eovaldi will likely throw another side session in the coming days and manager Alex Cora would like him to make one Minor League rehab start before he re-joins the Red Sox.
"It was good," said Eovaldi. "I felt really good. First one off the mound. I threw all five of my pitches. I was pain free out there and feeling really good." (Last updated: Aug. 26)
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 2:53:25 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h Disaster from Ryan Brasier in the 8th. And it happened quickly.
It's a 9-8 game. Would be quintessential 2022 #RedSox to rally from behind, be six outs from a nice win and throw it away spectacularly.
Brasier turned 35 today.
He's allowed multiple earned runs in three of his last eight outings.
ERA is up to 6.74. It hasn't been below 4.00 since May 15. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 2:54:01 GMT -5
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h Barnes with a 1.74 ERA since coming off the IL -- 10 1/3 IP, 11 appearances.
He was at 7.94 on May 30. Anything he can salvage into 2023 feels necessary. #RedSox are on the hook for a $9.375M CBT hit
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 2:54:57 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 5h Since coming off the injured list, Whitlock - on for the ninth in an attempt to close out the game -- has walked 2 of 78 hitters he's faced, a 2.6% walk rate.
Bill Koch @billkoch25 · 5h This goes beyond command. It also suggests supreme confidence in your stuff.
Garrett Whitlock isn't out there to nibble. He attacks. And he can do so because his fastball/changeup/slider mix is plenty good enough to retire anyone. #RedSox
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 2:56:20 GMT -5
Julian McWilliams @byjulianmack · 5h Ryan Brasier has ruined many of stories on many of nights. What a terrible display. Seriously. His ERA is now 6.47.
Ian Browne @ianmbrowne · 5h Brasier's 35th birthday is one he would like to never think about again after today.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 2:56:57 GMT -5
Julian McWilliams @byjulianmack · 5h Garrett Whitlock, John Schreiber, and Matt Barnes.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 3:05:30 GMT -5
RED SOX NOTEBOOK There’s a power outage in Boston and it’s hard for the Red Sox to explain By Julian McWilliams Globe Staff,Updated August 26, 2022, 8:21 p.m.
Set aside the Red Sox’ hitting woes they have displayed since June 27.
Set aside their .255 batting average with runners in scoring position in their last 52 games entering Friday, which was tied for 16th in the majors, or their 129 walks, which had them ranked 26th in the majors.
Put all that aside just for a moment, all of that misery, and consider another putrid development that has plagued this Red Sox club: they don’t hit homers.
he Sox were never your heaviest hitters in the league when it came to power. Their lineup anchors of the past were great hitters first. The homers were secondary. But they could hit them when needed to.
Consider, from 2018-21, the Red Sox put together three top-10 finishes in home runs. The only season they fell outside the top 10 was the 2020 COVID-19 season when they ranked 13th. It was a peculiar season for all when considering the pandemic and the circumstances that came with it.
But this season offers no excuse for the power outage. Entering Friday, the Sox ranked 19th in homers with 116. That’s behind the Pirates. After leading the majors in slugging for the previous four seasons (.455), they ranked 11th in the majors before Friday (.406).
Is this shocking? Surprising? All of the above?
“Yes,” manager Alex Cora said before the Sox’ 9-8 win Friday evening against the Rays. “We expected more homers out of our lineup but we haven’t done that. We haven’t been able to try to drive the baseball for X or Y reasons. Some guys [are] banged are up, others their swings haven’t been there throughout the season.”
J.D. Martinez is stuck on nine homers, having gone 119 at-bats without a homer before Friday. Xander Bogaerts now has 11 blasts after Friday’s sixth-inning homer that helped spark a Sox victory. Rafael Devers is carrying much of the load with 25, but if you combine all three of their homer totals, that’s still less than Aaron Judge’s league-leading 49 homers.
Unfathomable.
“That’s surprising for a team that, especially here at Fenway with the pull-side power, it hasn’t happened,” Cora said. Related: Examining an ‘amazing’ statement by David Ortiz, and other thoughts Eovaldi throws bullpen
Nate Eovaldi (right shoulder inflammation) threw his first bullpen Friday. Eovaldi went on the injured list on Aug. 22 (retroactive to Aug. 19). His next steps depend on how he responds to Friday’s bullpen.
“I felt really good,” said Eovaldi after throwing 25 pitches. “I threw all of my pitches. I just got to get everything timed up. But I was pain-free and am feeling really good. I’ll take this one as a victory, for sure.”
The one downside was that Eovaldi felt like he had to rush through his bullpen due to the inclement weather that was on the way. He noted that he wished he had more time in between all of his pitches. Other than that, all went according to plan with Eovaldi — whose velocity had taken a significant dip prior to hitting the IL — feeling a noticeable difference.
“It’s night and day from the way I was throwing before to now,” Eovaldi said. “Everything feels free and easy.”
Ideally, the Sox would like for Eovaldi to pitch in a rehab game before he returns to the big league club. Story nearing return
Trevor Story will be active for Saturday’s afternoon contest with the Rays. Story was scheduled to play in his third rehab game Friday for Double A Portland, but that contest was postponed due to rain. Story has been on the injured list with a right hand fracture since July 14. He was batting .221 with 15 homers and 58 RBI before hitting the IL.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 3:11:45 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 5h Since his great 2018, Brasier has pitched 145.1 IP for the Red Sox and has a 5.08 ERA.
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 3:17:55 GMT -5
Rays @ Red Sox Saturday, 27th August 4pm @ Fenway Park
Springs 6-3/2.46
Hill 5-5/4.69
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox Saturday, August 27, 2022 at 4:10pm EDT Written by Chris King
A pair of AL East rivals continue a series on the diamond up in Beantown as they try to improve their playoff positioning. The Tampa Bay Rays are on the road as they play the middle game of a three-game series with the Boston Red Sox Saturday afternoon. Tampa Bay comes in off a sweep of the Angels at home as they won the finale of the set 8-3 Thursday afternoon. Boston was swept at home by Toronto as they were beaten 6-5 in 10 innings in the finale Thursday night. This article was published prior to the conclusion of the opening game of the series at Fenway Park Friday night.
Tampa Bay Rays Looking to Keep Momentum Tampa Bay ran their win streak to six games as they knocked off Los Angeles in the finale of a three-game set at home Thursday afternoon. The Rays entered Friday second in the AL East, 7.5 games behind the Yankees for the top spot in the division. They owned the top wild card spot and stood four games clear of the Orioles to remain on the right side of the cut line. On Thursday, Tampa Bay finished with just seven hits with Manuel Margot (two runs, two RBI) recording four of them. Isaac Paredes hit his 16th homer of the season in the victory for Tampa Bay, who capitalized on four walks, two hit batters and an error. Drew Rasmussen (9-4) earned the win as he threw 5.1 innings, allowing one run on six hits with one walk and nine strikeouts before turning things over to the bullpen.
Jeffrey Springs is on the mound for Tampa Bay as he makes his 26th appearance and 18th start of the season in this contest. He comes in 6-3 with a 2.46 ERA, a 1.084 WHIP, 22 walks and 102 strikeouts over 95 innings of work this season. Springs earned the win in his last start, which came at home against the Angels Monday night. He threw 5.2 innings, allowing one run on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in a 2-1 Rays win. In his last three starts, Springs is 2-0 with a 2.30 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, six walks and 19 strikeouts over 15.2 innings of work. Springs makes his 10th career appearance and second start against the Red Sox in this contest. He has no record, a 3.09 ERA, a 1.371 WHIP, five walks and 14 strikeouts over 11.2 innings of work against them. Springs is 0-1 with a 7.32 ERA, a 1.836 WHIP, seven walks and 25 strikeouts over 19.2 innings in 14 career appearances, one start, at Fenway Park.
Red Sox Trying to Find Late Season Magic Boston lost their fourth straight and sixth in the last seven games as they were beaten in extras by Toronto Thursday night at home. The Red Sox entered Friday last in the AL East, 17 games behind the Yankees for the division lead. They were eight games behind the Mariners for the final playoff spot in the American League field. On Thursday, Boston got three hits from Reese McGuire (RBI) while Rafael Devers, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts (run) and Christian Arroyo (run) each had two. Boston rapped out 15 hits but went a miserable three of 20 with runners in scoring position, including having a man on third with no outs in the eighth, the bases loaded with no outs in the ninth and the automatic runner on second with no outs in the 10th, only to go scoreless in all three frames. Kutter Crawford didn’t factor in the decision as he allowed four runs on 10 hits with two walks and five strikeouts over 4.2 innings. John Schreiber (3-3) took the loss as he allowed one run (none earned) on no hits with no walks or strikeouts in one inning of relief.
Rich Hill is on the hill as he makes his 19th start of the season for the Red Sox in this contest. He comes in 5-5 with a 4.68 ERA, a 1.306 WHIP, 24 walks and 63 strikeouts over 82.2 innings of work this season. Hill earned the win in his previous start, which came Wednesday on the road against Pittsburgh. He threw five innings, allowing two runs on three hits with no walks and four strikeouts in a game the Red Sox won by an 8-3 count. In his last three starts, Hill is 1-1 with a 7.50 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP, one walk and five strikeouts over 12 innings of work. Hill makes his 14th career appearance and fifth start against the Rays in this contest. He comes in 2-0 with a 3.45 ERA, a 1.326 WHIP, 12 walks and 35 strikeouts over 28.2 innings against them. Hill is 3-3 with a 4.37 ERA, a 1.353 WHIP, 20 walks and 56 strikeouts over 57.2 innings in 32 career appearances, eight starts, at Fenway Park.
Rays at Red Sox Saturday, at 4:10 PM EST Partly Cloudy According to Forecast.io, it's expected to be 71° F with a 0% chance of precipitation and 8 MPH wind blowing in in Boston at 4:10 PM EST. Hourly Forecasts: Weather.com Forecast.io
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Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 27, 2022 7:02:41 GMT -5
After cathartic win, Red Sox pursue encore vs. Rays FLM The Boston Red Sox finished Thursday with a sour taste after being swept by the Toronto Blue Jays, losing a second straight 10-inning game.
On Saturday afternoon, the Red Sox will have the opportunity to clinch a three-game series against another American League East foe, the Tampa Bay Rays.
While Boston's eight-game deficit in the AL wild-card race is daunting, every game means more at this stage of the season.
"The win was huge," catcher Kevin Plawecki told the Apple TV+ broadcast after a 3-for-4, two-RBI performance in the Red Sox's 9-8, series-opening triumph on Friday. "To come through and pull that one out (after a five-run lead was cut to one in the eighth inning) was big for us, and hopefully we can carry it (forward)."
The Red Sox had 16 hits -- collecting at least 15 for the second straight game -- and got six innings from Michael Wacha en route to snapping a four-game skid.
Boston could get reinforcements on Saturday, as second baseman Trevor Story is expected to be activated. Story, who has been sidelined since July 13 with a right hand contusion, went 3-for-5 in two rehab games for Double-A Portland this week.
"We'll take a look at him, and most likely he's going to be active (Saturday)," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "He's ready to go. We've just got to make sure everything checks in well in the morning, and the hope is for him to play."
Boston left-hander Rich Hill (5-5, 4.68 ERA) will start on Saturday. Hill has allowed 10 runs in 12 innings over three starts since being activated from the injured list on Aug. 1. He had been sidelined due to a left knee sprain.
Hill was solid in his most recent outing, on Aug. 17 against the host Pittsburgh Pirates, but he got off to a tough start, surrendering a two-run home run to Bryan Reynolds in the first inning.
The 18-year veteran then retired 15 of the last 16 batters he faced to complete five innings in an 8-3 Boston win.
Hill is 2-0 with a 3.45 ERA in 13 career outings (four starts) against the Rays. He held them to four hits in four shutout innings on April 24 in St. Petersburg, Fla., his first start against them since 2019.
Prior to the Friday loss, the Rays owned the longest active winning streak in the majors, six games. They also had won six in a row against Boston.
Jose Siri hit his first homer for Tampa Bay in the eighth inning, one of the team's three in the game. Yandy Diaz went 3-for-4, and Harold Ramirez drove in a run for the fourth straight game while extending his career-best hitting streak to 12 games.
However, the Rays lost for the first time this season when scoring eight or more runs.
"We came in playing pretty well. We can't win them all," Diaz said through an interpreter, according to MLB.com. "They came in swinging the bats, and they got the win."
After JT Chargois made his first career start as the Friday opener, the Rays will return to using a regular starting pitcher on Saturday, Jeffrey Springs (6-3, 2.46 ERA).
The left-hander has won his past three decisions and allowed no more than two runs in each of his past four starts. His 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts on Monday helped the Rays start a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels in a series that concluded Thursday before the Rays departed for Boston.
A five-year major league veteran, Springs hadn't started against the Red Sox before July 5. He allowed three runs on five hits across four innings in that start, winding up with a no-decision in a game the Rays won 8-4. Overall against Boston in nine appearances, Springs has no record and a 3.09 ERA.
--Field Level Media
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