Chris Sale made his season debut on Tuesday night tossing 5.0 shutout innings, but some bad baserunning and poor defense cost the Boston Red Sox in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Sale allowed three hits, walked one, and struckout five throwing 78 pitches (53 for strikes) in his first start with the big club since last years American League Championship Series against Houston. The left hander was staked a 2-0 lead when Boston scored both their runs in the top of the fifth inning on a squeeze RBI sacrifice bunt by Franchy Cordero, and an RBI triple to left center by Bobby Dalbec. Things fell apart against Ryan Brasier in the last of the sixth. Harold Ramirez led off for Tampa Bay with a single, and then with one out Isaac Paredes drew a walk. After Randy Arozarena struckout swinging, Matt Strahm entered the game to replace Brasier. Francisco Mejia greeted Strahm with an RBI single to centerfield to slice the deficit to 2-1. Taylor Walls was next up in the key play of the game, hitting a liner off the left hand of Strahm who attempted to throw Walls out at first but the throw was errant to Cordero and down the right field line allowing Paredes to score to tie it. When Cordero retrieved the ball, he made a wild throw to catcher Christian Vazquez for another error that skipped away and Mejia would score the game winning run. Boston had a chance to tie it or take the lead in the seventh when Alex Verdugo led off with a double, and Jeter Downs who had replaced Trevor Story earlier would single to put runners on first and third with no outs. As Cordero was attempting to sacrifice bunt to try to get two runners in scoring position, Verdugo was caught leaning at third and was picked off by the catcher Mejia and the Sox couldn’t score in the inning in what was their last threat of the night. Strahm ended up leaving the game with an injury, as did Trevor Story who was hit in the hand while swinging in the fifth inning and both were scheduled to get x-rays later on Tuesday night after the game.
Boston (47-41) has now lost the first two of this series on the road, after winning the last two with the Yankees to split their four game weekend series at Fenway. Strahm (3-3) would take the loss in relief on the mound. Verdugo and Downs had two hits each. Ramirez had two hits for Tampa Bay, and Corey Kluber (5-5) earned the pitching win allowing two runs on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Brooks Raley pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts for his fifth save. The Rays (47-40) move ahead of the Red Sox by 1/2 game for the top American League wildcard playoff spot. Boston will look to get back on track in the four game set on Wednesday night at 7:10 p.m. sending Josh Winckowski (3-3, 4.35 ERA) to the mound against Shane McClanahan (9-3, 1.73).
