The Boston Red Sox’s offense was stopped dead in its tracks.
Matt Andriese tossed six shutout innings Saturday as the Tampa Bay Rays downed the Red Sox 4-1 at Tropicana Field. Boston’s bats have been hot for most of June, but Andriese threw plenty of cold water on them in the teams’ middle game in St. Petersburg, as the Sox produced just three hits.
It’ll only get harder for the Red Sox on Sunday, when Rays ace — and David Ortiz’s former nemesis — Chris Archer will the ball in the rubber match.
Let’s run down some notes from a relatively quiet day.
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— The Rays are an interesting team. Not only are they in first place in the American League East. They’re also doing it with pitching, as opposed to the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles, all of whom have been riding potent offenses to above .500 records.
The Red Sox sure haven’t been able to solve the Rays this season. Boston has hit .192 and averaged 2.25 runs per game in eight games against Tampa Bay. The Sox are 5-for-63 with runners in scoring position in those contests after going 0-for-1 in such situations Saturday.
— Alejandro De Aza’s home run was the only offense Boston mustered. De Aza continues to swing the bat well and prove why the Red Sox acquired him earlier this month from the Baltimore Orioles. His homer — an eighth-inning liner down the right field line — was his second in a Red Sox uniform.
— Matt Barnes, recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket before the game, had a long day. The right-hander caught an 8:30 a.m. ET flight, landed at 11:30 a.m., and showed up to The Trop around 1 p.m. for a 4:10 p.m. game.
There was no rest for the weary. Barnes was thrust into action in the seventh inning after 6 1/3 solid innings by starter Wade Miley. And the 25-year-old surrendered two solo homers over his 1 2/3 innings.
“It was a little hectic. There are no excuses, obviously, for me giving up the runs, because I still have to be able to perform and put up zeros,” Barnes said. “It has been a long day, but it is part of the profession.”
Barnes wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire before his most recent demotion, either. He has allowed seven earned runs on nine hits, including three homers, in 4 2/3 innings over his last four appearances. He had allowed zero earned runs in 5 1/3 innings over his previous five outings.
“He was two extremes,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said of Barnes’ performance, in which the young hurler also struck out four batters. “He dominated some hitters with some strikeouts and then mislocated a couple fastballs that he paid for.
“There’s no denying the stuff. The stuff is premium. And yet, mislocated fastballs, regardless of where you are in the lineup, there’s the capability of squaring you up and taking you out of the ballpark.”
— Hanley Ramirez missed his third consecutive game with a hand injury. The swelling has gone down in Ramirez’s left hand, Farrell told reporters before the game, but the Red Sox outfielder still hasn’t swung a bat. The team will continue to monitor Ramirez on a daily basis, and a disabled list stint isn’t out of the question if things don’t improve over the next three or four days.
— Shane Victorino went 1-for-4 in a rehab game with Triple-A Pawtucket. He played seven innings in right field.
— Ryan Hanigan went 0-for-2 and walked twice in a rehab game with Double-A Portland. He caught all nine innings.
Thumbnail photo via Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports Images
