The Boston Red Sox put together a strong rally Wednesday night to threaten the Tampa Bay Rays’ undefeated record to open up the Major League Baseball season.
Boston entered the seventh inning down 8-4, needing a stark offensive turnaround to make things interesting. Well, that’s exactly what happened, as Rafael Devers’ three-run home run brought the game within one. Tampa Bay would eventually add another run, leading to a clutch-time ninth inning.
Things started out promising for the Red Sox in the final frame, as a Reese McGuire single sent the tying runner to the plate with zero outs in the inning. Then, curiously, Yu Chang laid down a sacrifice bunt to hand the Rays an out.
Why? Well, the call from the dugout wasn’t what it seemed, as Boston manager Alex Cora revealed to reporters postgame that the play called for Chang to try and bunt for a hit.
“It was a good baseball play,” Cora said after the fact. “(Rays third baseman Taylor Walls) just made a better baseball play. That kid can really play great defense.”
The Red Sox would then go down quickly, with Kiké Hernández and Alex Verdugo supplying the final two out in the 9-7 loss at Tropicana Field. The verdict helped move Tampa closer to history, bringing its record to 12-0, with Boston falling to 5-7.
The Red Sox will have one last chance at breaking the Rays’ streak when they match up Thursday afternoon at Tropicana Field. You can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN or with NESN 360. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET.
