Xander Bogaerts Explains How Rays Have Given Red Sox Problems

The Red Sox’s struggles against the American League East continued on Wednesday as the Rays shut down Boston’s offense.

Tampa Bay beat the Red Sox, 4-1, at Tropicana Field behind Shane McClanahan’s arm. Boston manager Alex Cora gave a frank review of his team’s performance, and shortstop Xander Bogaerts gave his assessment of the four-game series so far.

“This series in particular, they’ve been very clean,” Bogaerts said, as seen on NESN’s postgame coverage. “I’m not saying we’re playing bad. I really don’t feel like we’re playing bad, but this series, these guys don’t give you an extra out. They don’t make mistakes.

“Maybe they give you a lot of mistakes on the bases, creating opportunities, but defensively, these guys are just solid. They’ve taken advantage of us. That’s how you should play baseball. You should take advantage when there’s an opportunity or when somebody messes it up.”

Bogaerts was Boston’s most productive batter Wednesday night, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and a stolen base, while scoring one run.

The Red Sox will look to avoid a sweep against the Rays on Thursday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m., and full coverage of the game will be on NESN following an hour of pregame.