Red Sox Wrap: Boston’s Bats Fall Flat In Pitching Duel Loss To Rays

The Boston Red Sox opened up their four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays by falling, 1-0, at Tropicana Field on Monday night.

The Red Sox fell to 5-5 while the Rays remain perfect, improving to 10-0 on their season.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
During Boston’s first series against an American League East opponent, the Red Sox underwent a full-out slugfest with the Baltimore Orioles. But to begin a road series against the hottest team in Major League Baseball, both rivals instead went arm-for-arm in a pitching duel.

And Tampa Bay escaped.

The Rays, who led the league with 24 home runs before first pitch, were stumped by the Red Sox. Nick Pivetta began that charge, holding Tampa Bay scoreless through five innings of work on the mound. Then Josh Winckowski picked up where Pivetta left off, contributing two scoreless innings of relief, continuing Boston’s solid streak of bullpen contribution.

And on a night where hits were scarce from Boston’s lineup — recording just three total with 10 strikeouts — the drought in offensive production proved costly. It only took a single run to crown a victor, but the Red Sox weren’t able to muster up any runs across the plate, which put a damper on the strongest showing from Boston’s pitching up to this point.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Pivetta showed improvement from his debut start, becoming the first pitcher this season to hold the Rays offense scoreless through five innings pitched. Pivetta allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out six hitters, throwing 53-of-83 pitches for a strike and recording the strongest start from Red Sox starting pitching this season.

— Brandon Lowe went 1-for-3, crushing the game-deciding home run in the eighth inning which evidently closed the contest up in Tampa Bay’s favor.

— Winckowski kept Boston in the running, delivering two strong innings in relief and allowing just one hit and no runs with a strikeout.

WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the over/under of Pivetta’s strikeout total at 4.5 with -164 odds on the Over. The 30-year-old made easy work of clearing those odds, striking out six Rays hitters through his outing. A $100 bet placed on Pivetta would’ve netted a $160.98 total payout.

UP NEXT ON NESN
The Red Sox and Rays continue their series Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus a full hour of pregame coverage, live on NESN+.