Two Tampa Bay Rays stood on base in a one-run game in the sixth inning. José Siri drilled a single just left of Rafael Devers at third base, and he grazed the ball wit his glove in his attempt to make a play.
The graze slowed the ball down enough for Richie Palacios to score from second base — not even a janitor throw from Tyler O'Neil was enough to catch the speeding runner and the Rays tied the game at two.
The following at-bat, José Caballero stole third, but not without additional damage. Rafael Devers misjudged Connor Wong's throw, and the ball slipped under his glove and toward the outfield, yet again.
Yandy Díaz stung a single through the left gap to score both the runners and the Boston Red Sox's defense was the nail in their own coffin, as it has been so many times before. Boston lost to Tampa Bay. 4-3, the winning run unearned.
Red Sox defense costs them again as unearned runs continue to mount
"Overall, we didn't do much."
— NESN (@NESN) May 16, 2024
Alex Cora on the Red Sox offense in their 4-3 loss to the Rays. #RedSox | https://t.co/jyk3EsbxuY pic.twitter.com/qeuhnBItWb
The Rays collected another unearned run in the fourth inning on a fielding error by first baseman Garrett Cooper. Boston had an error-riddled spell in April, and while its defense has improved, errors still rear their ugly heads. The Red Sox have created a whopping 34 unearned runs this season.
The Red Sox's high strikeout totals and left-on-base woes continue against their division rival Rays. Boston left six men on base, which isn't too many compared to some of its recent outings, but those six runners would've come in handy on the scoreboard in a tight game. Wilyer Abreu struck out with the bases loaded in the fifth inning for one of the Sox's 12 strikeouts on the night.
Abreu was one of the few Sox who helped offensively, though. He drilled one of Boston's two home runs of the night, and Devers had the other. Jarren Duran had a nice night at the plate — he posted two hits, the most in the Red Sox lineup, and scored a run.
Boston out-hit Tampa Bay eight to seven and the teams both fanned the same amount of times. Had the Red Sox kept their heads up on defense, they could've won a close game and secured a series split with the Rays, at the very least.