Red Sox Staying Upbeat Despite Missed Opportunity Vs. Rays

Not even striking out a whopping 17 times and losing the series to the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night could dampen the mood of Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora.

Despite falling to the Rays, 3-1, at Tropicana Field and failing to pick up ground on the Rangers in the American League wild-card race with Texas losing, Cora remained upbeat over his team’s performance.

And it left Cora believing good things are ahead when the Red Sox begin a critical seven-game homestand starting Friday.

“We’re ready to go home,” Cora told reporters as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “There was a lot of good stuff that happened here tonight. Showing up and grinding the way we did with where we were bullpen-wise, I know it sucks and there’s no moral victories, but we feel good. We’re going home now and if we want to gain ground, we got a chance now. … This week is going to be huge for us. Regardless of what people think, I’m very pleased with the way we played today.”

After an extra-inning loss Tuesday, the Red Sox were silenced at the plate by Rays starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow in the series finale. But despite their offensive struggles, they still had a chance to win thanks to a gutty effort by Nick Pivetta and Mauricio Llovera to keep things close until the Red Sox put the tying run at the plate in the top of the ninth inning.

“Everybody shows up, does their work every single day and it shows on the baseball field,” Pivetta told reporters, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. “Grinding A-Bs no matter what’s going on, make the defensive plays and never give in and never give up. There’s always a chance. Even the ninth inning, getting that runner on there. Let’s just fight all the time and we look forward to the challenges that are ahead. But stay steadfast and enjoy the moment.”

The Red Sox, who ended the night five games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the third and final wild-card spot, are in a tricky situation of trying to balance getting prospects like Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu some big league experience while looking to stay in playoff contention.

That won’t be easy, especially with a three-game series with the AL-leading Baltimore Orioles on tap next, but the Red Sox are determined to push, regardless.

“It’s hard, but I mean let’s be honest, we haven’t played good baseball, either,” Cora said. “We put ourself in that spot in certain weeks. But we just got to keep grinding. We want to get to the next level. We want to make it, I’m telling you, and the effort is there. We came here for three days and they won the series, but we’re right there. Just got to get playing good baseball.”