BOSTON — The Red Sox couldn’t complete a three-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Boston’s moderate three-game winning streak was snapped Sunday as the Rays came from behind to defeat the Red Sox 4-3 in the teams’ series finale at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox went 5-5 on their 10-game homestand, leaving them with a 47-59 record this season.
GAME IN A WORD
Fleeting.
The Red Sox built a 3-1 lead after the Rays jumped onto the scoreboard first in the first inning. They couldn’t hold down the advantage, though. It slipped right through their fingers, culminating with a rare eighth-inning implosion by Junichi Tazawa.
Boston showed life toward the tail end of its homestand. But the resurgence didn’t last long. The Sox now head out on an eight-game road trip sitting 12 games under .500.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Tazawa coughed up a lead in the eighth inning.
The usually reliable Tazawa surrendered a leadoff double to Evan Longoria with the Red Sox leading 3-2. Longoria scored two batters later when Asdrubal Cabrera ripped a ground-rule double to right field.
James Loney gave the Rays a 4-3 lead with a bloop single into center field that scored Cabrera.
ON THE BUMP
— Wade Miley rebounded nicely from a seven-run yield in his last start. The left-hander allowed two earned runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked one while throwing a season-high 120 pitches.
Miley surrendered a home run to Brandon Guyer to begin the game. He then retired 11 of the next 12 hitters he faced before Cabrera (single) and Loney (double) produced a run in the fourth inning.
Miley exited with a runner on third base and two outs in the seventh inning. Robbie Ross Jr. walked a tightrope but prevented the run from scoring, at that point preserving a 3-2 lead for Boston.
While Miley’s last start against the Chicago White Sox represented a hiccup, this season still has been decent for the 28-year-old. He owns a 4.55 ERA.
— Ross walked two in the seventh but struck out Joey Butler with the bases loaded.
— Tazawa allowed two runs on three hits in the eighth inning, raising his ERA to 2.93. Opposing hitters have squared up some balls against Tazawa this month.
— Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless ninth inning with the Red Sox trailing 4-3.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— Xander Bogaerts’ ascent continues, as the second-year shortstop went 1-for-3, stole a base and scored two runs.
Bogaerts singled in the first inning, stole second as David Ortiz struck out swinging and scored when Hanley Ramirez planted an RBI double off the wall in left-center field.
Bogaerts scored in the third inning when Ortiz peppered the Green Monster with a wall-ball double.
— Travis Shaw had a huge game Saturday. His encore? A two-hit performance.
Shaw had two singles — one in the fourth and one in the sixth — to raise his average to .391 (9-for-22). Unfortunately for the Red Sox, he also struck out in the eighth inning with a runner on base.
— Ramirez had two hits, including the RBI double in the first inning that scored Bogaerts. He singled in the eighth and was replaced by a pinch-runner, Alejandro De Aza.
Ramirez was removed for precautionary reasons after tweaking his knee on the eighth-inning single, Red Sox manager John Farrell said after the game. He’s not expected to miss any time.
— Mike Napoli singled home Ramirez in the first inning. He then struck out three times, though his third strikeout came after he nearly hooked an extra-base hit into the left field corner. It fell just foul.
— Pablo Sandoval, who has been battling a wrist/forearm issue, pinch-hit for Ryan Hanigan in the ninth inning. He struck out swinging on a pitch up and out of the strike zone.
TWEET OF THE GAME
Ouch.
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UP NEXT
The Red Sox will catch their breath with an off-day Monday. They’ll then travel to New York for three games against the Yankees starting Tuesday.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
