The Tampa Bay Rays returned to their winning ways on Thursday afternoon after an 8-1 blowout victory against the Boston Red Sox.
Rays Leading the Way
The Rays, now five games ahead of their division rivals, captured an elusive seventh win in their last ten outings. Boston now finds themselves at 3-7 in their last ten after a long course of imminent struggles.
While it did start out as a fairly contested game, a string of unfortunate Red Sox hitting mistakes and Rays pitching conquests gave Tampa Bay a much-needed series-clinching victory.
The overflow began in the top of the sixth with a Brandon Lowe single followed by a Wander Franco two-run homer. A balk from Red Sox reliever Hansel Robles cashed in the team’s third run of the inning.
“We talked about yesterday how it got out of hand, but had all the world-for good reason-these guys were doing to come back and be ready to go and they were,” stated Kevin Cash. “These guys, they come to play.”
Mike Zunino, late in the contest, put the game away with a three-run shot in the top of the eighth that gave the Rays a seven-run lead.
Red Sox Struggles
The Red Sox garnered a pedestrian two hits in an outing quite different from that of Wednesday night in Thursday’s offensive struggle against Tampa. Rafael Devers earned an RBI double in the fourth to tally the team’s only run of the night. Kevin Plawecki tacked on a single in the fifth but was later stranded.
On the mound for the Bean Town bunch was Tanner Houck (0-3) in what was his third ever start at the big league level. Houck allowed four runs on six hits in over five innings of work. He retired eight batters throughout the night and walked off the field after giving up three runs in the top of the sixth.
Rays Pitching
Tampa Bay saw a strong showing from Drew Rasmussen in his first start with the team. The 28-year-old allowed a single run and a hit, striking out four batters across four innings.
“I felt really good about how today went and the ability to get that fourth inning, just to give somebody at the back end a chance to catch their breath and take another day off,” said Rasmussen.
After Rasmussen left the mound, the Rays called upon Collin McHugh (4-1) to further instill the nail in the coffin from the mound.
What’s Next?
The Tampa Bay Rays will continue their conquest towards the AL East division title on Friday night against the Minnesota Twins. Shane McLanahan (6-4) will open the series up in the twin cities.