Red Sox Wrap: Rays Hand Boston Loss In First Meeting Of Season

The Boston Red Sox faced the Tampa Bay Rays for the first time this season Monday night and their American League East rival greeted them with a 5-3 loss at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox dropped to 20-19 while the Rays moved back to the .500 mark with a 21-21 record.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The AL East was unkind to the Red Sox the past couple of seasons and it continues to be that way.

Boston couldn't build off of two straight wins over the Washington Nationals and take advantage of a Rays team that has been underwhelming this season.

Tampa Bay set the tone in the top of the first inning when it got to Kutter Crawford for three runs. Two of those runs came when Ceddanne Rafaela had a ball go off his glove while trying to make a full-extension diving grab on a ball Amed Rosario's laced into the right-center gap. The play resulted in a triple for Rosario.

The Red Sox responded right away and erased the deficit in their first at-bats of the game, but then the Rays held Boston scoreless and to just five hits over the final eight innings.

The Red Sox have played just four games against the AL East this season, but have yet to secure a win. Boston needs to find some sort of answer to curb its divisional woes.

STARS OF THE GAME
-- Rosario had the aforementioned key hit in the first inning and provided an insurance run in the top of the eighth with an RBI double. He finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

-- Tyler O'Neill supplied all of Boston's offense with one swing in the bottom of the first inning. He belted a 426-foot, three-run homer over the Green Monster for his only hit of the game. It was O'Neill's team-leading 10th round-tripper of the season.

O' my goodness, O'Neill. pic.twitter.com/3OaTpxnUul

— Red Sox (@RedSox) May 13, 2024

-- Wilyer Abreu was the only member of the Red Sox to record a multi-hit game. He went 2-for-4 with a double.

ON DECK AT NESN
The Red Sox and Rays continue their four-game set Tuesday. First pitch from Fenway Park is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.