The triumph in extra innings was within two outs for the Tampa Bay Rays.Rob Refsnyder smacked a bouncing grounder to Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Manuel Rodriguez in the 11th inning of a 4-3 game with runners on the corners.
The runners started to leave their bases, and Rodriguez fielded the ball. With the ball in his glove, he turned toward home plate, looking back to second base, but David Hamilton was closing fast.
Before sending the ball to first to collect the out of Refsnyder, Rodriguez was momentarily immobilized by uncertainty.
Hamilton’s run, however, leveled the score at four. After allowing a leadoff walk in the 12th inning, Bernardino ended a frighteningly close Rays rally, and Romy González sealed the victory for the Boston Red Sox in the half inning that followed.
Boston won 5-4 in extra innings thanks to a barely fair line shot by González into right field and a quick run by Connor Wong from third. Ceddanne Rafaela’s previous error was undone by Tampa Bay’s infield error.
Rafaela bounced a throw that skipped under González’s glove at first base to give the Rays a 4-2 lead in the eleventh inning. The Rays’ lead was short-lived as Randy Arozarena scored on the overthrow.
After returning off the injured list, Nick Pivetta had a better second start than the first. In 5.2 innings of work, he gave up two home runs while striking out eight opponents.
The Braves’ offense, especially Marcell Ozuna, ruined Pivetta’s previous appearance, but it appears the right-hander has moved past that setback.
Even with the victory, Boston’s recent at-bat problems persisted. No player on the Red Sox collected more than one hit, while the team recorded 14 strikeouts.
Rafaela blasted his fourth home run of the year, and Dominic Smith emerged from his funk with a two-run double, but if the Sox are to win more games, their bats still need to put in more work.
Boston needs to win both of the Red Sox’s remaining games in this series against the division-rival Rays. Boston has a poor record thus far against AL East rivals; their single win against a division rival came on May 14.
The Red Sox have an opportunity to distance themselves from the lowest clubs in the division. Their May 15 and May 16 starts, respectively, from Tanner Houck and Cooper Criswell could help them improve their in-division record.
However, González’s late single and Rodriguez’s fielding error proved to be Boston’s salvation this time.
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