Bobby Valentine turned to Michael Olmsted to pitch the ninth inning, and he got into some trouble right out of the gate.
Will Rhymes drew a walk to begin the frame, and he then moved up to second base on a passed ball. Olmsted issued a free pass to Cody Rogers as well, but the right-hander was able to bounce back and get Jeff Salazar to pop out to short and Jesus Feliciano to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Ross Ohlendorf got the start in this one for the Sox, and he went 3 2/3 innings, allowing five runs — four earned — on seven hits while striking out one and walking two.
On the offensive side of things, Darnell McDonald, Jason Repko and Daniel Nava each collected two hits for Boston.
The Sox will be back in action tomorrow when they host the Twins. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., and all of the action can be seen on NESN.
Mid 9th, 7-7: The Rays will try to walk off with the win, as Jake McGee kept the Red Sox offense in check in the top half of the ninth.
Zach Gentile and Christian Vazquez flew out against McGee, and Shannon Wilkerson then grounded out to end the inning.
End 8th, 7-7: To begin the inning, Steven Tinco grounded out to Pedro Ciriaco, who continues to be a little bit shaky in the field. Ultimately, that could be what ends up costing him a roster spot, but we shall see.
Jose Labaton singled and Elliot Johnson was beaned, giving the Rays a couple of baserunners, but Chorye Spoon settled down after that and escaped the inning unscathed.
Mid 8th, 7-7: Bobby V tried to pull a little hit-and-run after Pedro Ciriaco reached base after getting plunked, but the decision backfired on the Red Sox.
Ciriaco took off for second, and Nate Spears lifted a fly ball to left. Jesus Feliciano was able to haul it in, and he then fired it in to first base to double up Ciriaco.
Brandon Jacobs then popped out to shortstop to end the inning.
End 7th, 7-7: The Red Sox turned to Tony Pena after Franklin Morales struck out Desmond Jennings to begin the inning. Luke Scott greeted him rather rudely.
Scott lifted one to right, tying the game at seven apiece. Will Rhymes and Ben Zobrist each reached after the home run — Rhymes on a single and Zobrist on a walk — but the Rays were unable to jump ahead, as Carlos Pena went down on strikes and Matt Joyce flew out to end the frame.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 7-6: It's seventh-inning stretch time, and the Red Sox have jumped in front.
Kelly Shoppach hit a one-out double and advanced to third on Jason Repko's single. He then came in to score on a line-drive base hit by Sean Coyle.
End 6th, 6-6: Franklin Morales came on in the sixth for the Red Sox, and he kept the Tampa Bay offense at bay.
Jeff Keppinger struck out swinging, and Jose Labaton grounded out for the inning's first two outs. Sean Rodriguez followed up with a single, but he was caught stealing to end the inning.
Mauro Gomez, Kelly Shoppach and Jason Repko are scheduled to bat in the top of the seventh.
Mid 6th, 6-6: The Sox have pulled even.
Jason Repko led off the inning with a base hit, during which he advanced to second on an error by the left fielder, Matt Joyce. Daniel Nava drove him home with a double down the right-field line. He then advance to third on a groundout to the right side by Heiker Meneses. That would be crucial, as Ciriaco followed up with a ground ball to third that ate up Longoria and allowed Nava to score.
Ciriaco moved up to second on a passed ball, and a walk set up runners at first and second. Brandon Jacobs would ground out, though, keeping the game deadlocked after five and a half.
End 5th, Rays 6-4: Evan Longoria launched one into orbit, getting a run back for the Rays after they nearly watched their lead evaporate in the top half of the frame.
Bowden settled down to retire the next three hitters after Longoria's longball, but the Rays will be happy to head to the sixth with a two-run cushion.
Mid 5th, Rays 5-4: The Red Sox were able to cut into the Tampa Bay lead a bit, pushing across three runs in the frame.
Pedro Ciriaco was responsible for driving in the first run, as he dropped down a bunt single that scored Daniel Nava, who led off the inning with a single. Jonathan Hee also singled, and he and Ciriaco came around to score on a bloop single into right field by Brandon Jacobs, who was pinch-hitting for Darnell McDonald.
End 4th, Rays 5-1: Ohlendorf got into some trouble in the fourth, walking Carlos Pena — who homered in his first at-bat — to begin the inning. After a Matt Joyce fly out, Jeff Keppinger doubled down the left-field line, which put runners at second and third.
Jose Labaton then drove them in with a fly ball that got over the head of Jason Repko in center. Sean Rodriguez followed up with a double of his own, extending the Rays' lead to 5-1.
Michael Bowden ended up taking over on the hill to close out the inning.
Mid 4th, Rays 2-1: Impressive inning for Wade Davis. He retired the Sox in order.
Davis struck out Shoppach swinging, then got Jason Repko to ground out before then sitting down Dan Butler by way of the K.
End 3rd, Rays 2-1: The Rays managed to push a run across, but it could've been a lot worse.
Jose Labaton and Desmond Jennings sandwiched a Sean Rodriguez flyout with singles. Luke Scott then reached on an error by Pedro Ciriaco, loading the bases for Evan Longoria.
Longoria flew out, but it was deep enough to score Lobaton. Ben Zobrist then grounded out to end the inning with runners on the corners.
Mid 3rd, 1-1: The Rays rolled out Burke Badenhop for the third inning, and he made quick work of the first two hitters in the Sox order, Pedro Ciriaco and Nate Spears.
Ciriaco struck out swinging, and Spears flew out to center. McDonald then reached on a base hit, but he wouldn't advance, as Mauro Gomez grounded out back to the mound.
End 2nd, 1-1: Ben Zobrist walked to kick off the bottom half of the second, but he was quickly taken off the bases, as Ohlendorf caught him leaning off first.
Carlos Pena then ensured he wouldn't have the same issue, homering to right to tie things up.
Ohlendorf settled down to strike out Matt Joyce and sit down Jeff Keppinger on a groundout to third.
Mid 2nd, Red Sox 1-0: Joel Peralta came on for the Rays in the second inning, and he looked sharp.
Peralta struck out Dan Butler and Daniel Nava to start the inning and then got Jonathan Hee to fly out to Ben Zobrist, who is getting the call in right field for this afternoon's contest.
End 1st, Red Sox 1-0: Ross Ohlendorf came out for his first inning of work and gave up a base hit to Luke Scott after retiring Desmond Jennings on a groundout to begin the game.
Ohlendorf then induced a double play, though, with Evan Longoria grounding into the 5-4-3 twin killing.
Mid 1st, Red Sox 1-0: Pedro Ciriaco continued his torrid spring with a double to get things going in the first.
Then, after a Nate Spears groundout, Darnell McDonald brought Ciriaco around with a double of his own.
Mauro Gomez struck out swinging for the inning's second out, and Kelly Shoppach then got hit by a pitch, setting up runners at first and second. The Sox were unable to do any more damage, though, as Jason Repko flew out to center to end things.
1:15 p.m.: And we're under way…
1 p.m.: We're just about ready for some baseball, and the lineup cards are out. Here's what they look like.
Red Sox
Pedro Ciriaco, SS
Nate Spears, 2B
Darnell McDonald, LF
Mauro Gomez, 1B
Kelly Shoppach, C
Jason Repko, CF
Dan Butler, DH
Daniel Nava, RF
Jonathan Hee, 3B
Ross Ohlendorf, P
Rays
Desmond Jennings, CF
Luke Scott, DH
Evan Longoria, 3B
Ben Zobrist, RF
Carlos Pena, 1B
Matt Joyce, LF
Jeff Keppinger, 2B
Jose Lobaton, C
Sean Rodriguez, SS
Kyle Farnsworth, P
8 a.m. ET: Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine will be bringing a roster of major league backups and minor leaguers on the trip to Port Charlotte on Saturday as the Red Sox take on the Rays. He decided to give the everyday players the option to take the day off or get extra work done at JetBlue Park.
Since Ross Ohlendorf hasn't logged many innings this spring — considering the pitching competition — Valentine has given Ohlendorf the starting nod. Valentine explained the decision to NESN.com's Didier Morais and other reporters Friday.
"Like I said before, some of the guys haven’t gotten all the innings we wanted them to get, and Ollie’s one of them," Valentine said. "We opted, as he did, to try to make the team as a reliever. His role is going to be as one of our 10 starters, I believe.”
Through 7 2/3 innings this spring, Ohlendorf has limited batters to six hits and two runs, but he has issued four walks.
Make sure to follow NESN.com all game long for your coverage.
