Red Sox Wrap: Rays Halt Boston Comeback Surge In 9-7 Loss

The Boston Red Sox lost the first game of a two-game series, 9-7, against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park on Tuesday night.

With the loss, the Red Sox moved to 76-81, while the Rays moved to 96-62.

You can check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Boston looked to be uncompetitive when the Rays tallied seven runs in the first three frames of the game against Tanner Houck.

After Zach Eflin mowed through the Red Sox lineup the first time through, a pair of young lefties acquired in the Christian Vázquez trade stepped up to bring Boston back.

In the fifth inning without a run on the board for the home team, Enmanuel Valdez smashed a three-run homer over the bullpens in right field to cut the deficit to 7-3 on his sixth blast of the season.

Later in the inning with a pair of runners on, Wilyer Abreu popped a two-run double off of the Green Monster making it a 7-5 game.

The Red Sox went down early in a game that meant far more in reality to the Rays. Despite that, the offense battled in the later innings to compete against a postseason contender in the division.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Valdez drove in four runs with three hits to fuel the offensive efforts.

— Abreu stayed hot at the plate, notably with the two-RBI double.

— Justin Turner picked up his 96th RBI of the season with a single in the seventh inning.

WAGER WATCH
Valdez entered Tuesday’s contest at +560 to hit a home run, per FanDuel Sportsbook. With his three-run shot in the fifth inning, a $100 wager placed on Valdez would’ve netted a $660 total payout.

ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox play their final home game of the season against the Rays on Wednesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.