Jake Mangum may have been mic’d up for the television broadcast, but the Tampa Bay Rays’ offense was muted. After scoring at least four runs in each of their last five games, they could only manage five hits in a 1-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox. The loss handed the series to Boston in the battle of two teams trying to get back to .500 on the season.
Zack Littell pitched the Rays six innings of solid pitching that deserved a better outcome. The right-hander gave up five hits, walked three, and struck out five in the loss. It was the kind of outing that doesn’t light up a box score but keeps you in the game. However, in a low-scoring duel like this one, it only took one pitch to determine the ending.
The lone run came early for the Red Sox. In the top of the third, David Hamilton jumped on a pitch from Zack Littell and hit a solo homer to right field, his first of the season, and that proved to be all Boston would need. It was a tough break for the Rays, given that the 2-2 pitch looks like it may have been in the zone to be strike three, and Steinbrenner Field is the only ballpark where it is a home run.
Things could’ve unraveled in the fourth, but Littell stood tall. After a leadoff walk to Trevor Story, a ground-rule double from Romy Gonzalez, and an intentional walk to Triston Casas, the Red Sox loaded the bases with one out. He went to work to get Carlos Narváez to pop out and took care of business himself by fielding a sharp comebacker from Hamilton, tossing it to first to strand all three runners.
The Rays’ bullpen kept the game close with three scoreless innings in relief, allowing no hits and striking out two.
Ultimately and obviously, you still have to be able to score at least one run to win a game.
Boston’s pitchers combined to silence the Rays’ bats, striking out 13 and walking just two. Garrett Whitlock entered in the seventh and was particularly sharp, striking out the side to maintain the one-run lead and then handing it off to Slaten, who closed the door in the ninth.
The Rays had their chances, including a leadoff walk in the first and another in the fifth, but couldn’t string together enough offense. Christopher Morel, Jake Mangum, and Junior Caminero each picked up hits, but timely contact eluded the lineup all night like a missing sock in the laundry.
Sometimes, defensive battles are low on excitement, but tonight’s game provided its fair share of highlights.
In the bottom half of the fourth, Trevor Story turned in a highlight-reel play of his own, spinning to rob Junior Caminero of a single and preserve Boston’s slim lead. It was just one of several sharp defensive plays that kept the Rays off the board.
Then the top of the fifth had a sequence you could not script. Taylor Walls showed off his range to take away a hit from Ceddanne Rafaela, only for José Caballero to lose a fly ball in the lights, gifting Jarren Duran a double. Duran then tried to make something happen by swiping third, but was cut down by Danny Jansen.
Mangum added some flair in the top of the ninth, tracking down a deep fly ball in center field before crashing into the wall and getting his batting gloves stuck in the padding.
The Rays will have to shake this one off quickly as they welcome division rival and their landlord, the New York Yankees, come to town for a weekend series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m., with RHP Taj Bradley scheduled to start for the Rays opposite. RHP Will Warren.
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