The Boston Red Sox will want to forget about this one.
After jumping out to a three-run lead, starter Rick Porcello and the Red Sox allowed the Tampa Bay Rays to force extra innings Wednesday at Tropicana Field, then lost on a walk-off error in a painful 4-3 loss.
Left fielder Andrew Benintendi also exited the game in the sixth inning with a left knee sprain.
Here’s how this one went down.
GAME IN A WORD
Ugly.
The Red Sox let a three-run lead slip away, committed a game-losing error and saw their 22-year-old rookie phenom leave with a painful-looking left knee sprain. Not ideal.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
The Rays walked off in the 11th on a Red Sox fielding blunder.
Heath Hembree dropped Travis Shaw’s flip to first base on a Kevin Kiermaier grounder, allowing Luke Maile to score from second base when Sox catcher Sandy Leon dropped Hembree’s throw to home plate.
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ON THE BUMP
— Porcello’s 18th win proved elusive in an up-and-down start from the Red Sox right-hander.
Porcello found himself in a few jams early, and Rays designated hitter Brad Miller made him pay in the third inning with a two-out, two-RBI double. Porcello turned it on to retire 14 of the next 16 batters he faced, but Evan Longoria victimized him with a game-tying, solo home run in the eighth inning.
The righty exited with two outs in the eighth and allowed three earned runs on nine hits, striking out eight while walking no one. He threw a career-high 123 pitches.
— Robbie Ross Jr. relieved Porcello and walked the only batter he faced before getting pulled.
— Brad Ziegler allowed a single to load the bases in the eighth but struck out Corey Dickerson to end the inning.
Ziegler gave up a lead-off hit after coming back out to start the ninth. Craig Kimbrel replaced him after he retired Logan Forsythe.
— Kimbrel struck out both batters he faced in the ninth to strand the winning run at second and send the game to extras.
— Hembree had no problems in a 1-2-3 10th inning, but allowed a double and a walk in the 11th before his mishap at first base allowed the game-winning run to score.
IN THE BATTER’S BOX
— David Ortiz opened the scoring in the first inning with a milestone two-run homer that gave him 30 homers and 100 RBIs on the season. Big Papi went 2-for-5 and now owns an 11-game hitting streak.
— Dustin Pedroia helped manufacture a run in the third, drawing a lead-off walk and stealing second base with two outs before scoring on Mookie Betts’ RBI single. Pedroia (2-for-4, two runs scored) also stole a base in the first inning, marking his first two-steal game since 2014.
— Betts finished 2-for-4 with a walk, and his run-plating single gave him 90 RBIs on the season.
— Benintendi’s injury came on a baserunning blunder, as Rays shortstop Matt Duffy tagged him out between second and third on a Pedroia ground ball before firing to first for the double play. The Red Sox had runners on second and third with no outs but couldn’t score. The rookie went 1-for-3 at the plate with a double.
— Brock Holt went 0-for-3 before being lifted in favor of Aaron Hill, who struck out in the ninth.
— Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts had nights to forget, going a combined 0-for-10 with six strikeouts.
TWEET OF THE NIGHT
Maybe Kiermaier just needs a hug after what Betts did to him Tuesday night.
UP NEXT
Drew Pomeranz will get the call for Thursday’s series finale against the Rays, a matinee contest that’s set for 1:10 p.m. ET. Tampa will counter with right-hander Jake Odorizzi.
Thumbnail photo via Joe Nicholson/USA TODAY Sports Images
