While the Boston Red Sox won the game in extras and handed the Tampa Bay Rays a seventh straight loss, Wander Franco stole the show on Tuesday night.
Wander Franco
Franco, MLB’s consensus number one prospect, was called up from Durham Triple-A on Sunday. This move was expected after Tampa had dropped six straight with the offense needing an extra boost.
In his first plate appearance at the major league level, Franco showed great discipline at the plate, reaching base on a walk. This proved to be critical as the 20-year-old would round the bases and score in the first inning to give Tampa a 2-0 lead.
Later in the game, the rookie tied the game at five in the fifth inning with a 362-foot three-run homer. That was Franco’s first MLB hit, but he wasn’t done yet. The 20-year-old also hit a double.
Pitching
Eduardo Rodriguez took the mound for Boston on Tuesday night. The 28-year-old allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk while striking out seven across six innings. While Rodriguez didn’t factor into the decision in an eventual win, he’s 0-4 in his last eight starts.
Meanwhile, Ryan Yarbrough covered two innings as a primary pitcher for the Rays and didn’t factor into the decision. Yarbrough gave up five runs on five hits and a walk while striking out two. The Texas native has been blitzed for 10 runs between his last two outings, raising his season ERA from 3.88 to 4.59.
Extra Innings
The Tampa Bay Rays got into a lot of trouble in the 10th inning. With a runner already on second because of the controversial extra inning rule, Peter Fairbanks came in and gave up a weak single to Danny Santana. The ball fell in no mans land, creating runners on 1st and 3rd with nobody out. Next, Fairbanks threw a wild pitch that went through Zunino’s legs and to the backstop. Luckily, Zunino got a good bounce, and Fairbanks was covering the plate for the tag out. After the first out of the inning, Fairbanks intentionally walked Alex Verdugo and was able to turn a strike em out, throw em out double play to end the Red Sox threat.
However, Tampa Bay failed to score in the 10th inning. Onto the 11th inning, Fairbanks came out again. Ultimately, he gave up back-to-back-to-back hits as the Red Sox took an 8-5 lead. Boston then scored another run on a sac fly, scoring the 4th run of the 11th inning.