Rays 8, Red Sox 2
The Tampa Bay Rays took down the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night to a much more comfortable 8-2 margin. After being shut out just six days before by Martin Perez, the Rays wasted no time in this one. Michael Brosseau, who has been hot as of late, drove a 3-2 pitch into the Red Sox bullpen for a lead-off homer.
The seventh inning is where the Rays put the game away. New additions started and ended the scoring when Manuel Margot and Hunter Renfroe drove in runs on doubles to left. Brandon Lowe had another key hit as he barreled a two-strike breaking pitch that one-hopped into the right field bleachers.
The Red Sox couldn’t put much together against the Rays bullpen arms. Michael Chavis and Andrew Benintendi had two hits a piece. Red Sox fans would love to see Benintendi get going as those two hits got his average to crawl above .100.
Another Arm Bites the Dust
The Rays have another cause for concern when Tuesday’s opener Andrew Kittredge had to be removed after throwing just his fifth pitch of the ballgame. He felt his forearm tighten up which can make any baseball fan think the worst. Hopefully, it’s just a small issue stemming from him closing the game the night before.
While the Rays have plenty of quality arms, you still don’t like seeing pitchers get hurt at this pace. He has been a reliable arm that the Rays have used in many different scenarios. Kittredge’s injury comes just hours after the Rays announced that Brendan McKay would be shut down for a week or two with shoulder irritation. The Rays have already lost three arms to the IL and Kittredge could be the next to join.
New Southpaw Lead-Off Man
Mike Brosseau continues to destroy left-handed pitching and he may be in line for more starts at the top of the order. He added a double in the third to go along with his lead-off home run. His 2-3 night increased his average to a team-leading .375 average. Brosseau also had a huge home run on Sunday when he took another lefty deep. Expect to see him in the lineup whenever the Rays face a left-handed starter.
Yandy Diaz has served in that role this year and continues to be a singles machine. Another viable option soon could be Manuel Margot who added two more hits following his 4-4 outburst on Monday. Kevin Cash has got to like the options he has this year when facing a lefty.
Going Streaking
The Rays have won four in a row and six of their last eight. This was much needed after their previous five-game losing streak. The win on Tuesday is their sixth straight win in Fenway Park, as well their 10th win in the last 11 games in Boston. This road trip is off to a much better start compared to the first one of the year which produced zero wins.
Up Next
The Rays and Red Sox will face off again Wednesday night at 7:30 Eastern.
Blake Snell (0-0, 3.38)will make his fourth start of the season for the Rays. Getting Snell into the fourth or fifth inning tonight is a goal for Snell, as well as the Rays. This is, even more, a necessity following the bullpen usage the last two nights. The Red Sox will throw newly acquired Zack Godley (0-1. 3.97)out there for game three of the series. He relies heavily on his cutter to get in on the hands of lefties.
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