The Tampa Bay Rays did not allow a hit in the third inning Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.
The Boston Red Sox scored three runs anyway.
A walk, a hit batter, another walk, a passed ball, an error, and a groundout turned a tied game into a three-run Boston lead, sending the Rays toward a 6-1 loss and a four-game sweep. The defeat extended Tampa Bay’s season-high losing streak to five games while Boston won its 13th straight.
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Before the third-inning unraveling, Victor Mesa Jr. provided the Rays with one of the more exciting ways imaginable to take a lead.
Mesa opened the second by driving a ball into the right-center-field gap and never stopped running, racing around the bases for an inside-the-park home run. It was his seventh homer of the season and gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead without the ball ever leaving Fenway Park.
The Rays threatened to add more. Richie Palacios singled and stole second. Taylor Walls followed with a walk, but Sonny Gray retired the next three batters to strand both runners.
Boston immediately answered.
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Caleb Durbin opened the bottom of the second with a single, stole second and advanced to third when Hunter Feduccia’s throw bounced away into centerfield. Andruw Monasterio then doubled into left field to tie the game. Feduccia recovered by throwing out Jarren Duran attempting to steal second, helping Shane McClanahan escape without further damage than a 1-1 tie.
The Rays created another scoring opportunity in the third. Cedric Mullins walked, and Chandler Simpson doubled, placing runners at second and third with one out. Gray responded by striking out Mesa after an unsuccessful Rays challenge and retiring Palacios on a fly ball.
Those missed opportunities became more costly during the no-hit blunder of the third inning.
McClanahan walked Jahmai Jones before retiring Ceddanne Rafaela. Wilyer Abreu was then hit by a pitch, and Willson Contreras walked after a Red Sox challenge confirmed ball three.
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With the bases loaded, a passed ball by Feduccia allowed Jones to score the go-ahead run. Durbin followed with a grounder to Junior Caminero, but Caminero’s throw hit Abreau as Abreau scored, Contreras moved to third, and Durbin advanced to second.
Romy Gonzalez completed the damage with a groundout that brought Contreras home. Boston had turned three free baserunners and two defensive mistakes into a 4-1 lead without recording a hit.
Gray made sure the lead held.
After allowing Jonathan Aranda’s leadoff single in the fifth, the right-hander retired Caminero, Mullins and Simpson in order. Another opportunity disappeared in the sixth when Walls grounded into an inning-ending double play after Palacios walked.
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Contreras then supplied Boston’s only necessary insurance. Rafaela singled to open the bottom of the fifth, and Contreras drove McClanahan’s next pitch into the right-center-field seats for his 22nd home run, extending the lead to 6-1.
McClanahan finished with six runs allowed, four earned, on five hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out three, matching his season low, but the line reflected an afternoon when missed locations and defensive mistakes compounded one another.
The Rays finished with eight hits to Boston’s six but went 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Even after Feduccia doubled in the seventh and Walls and Feduccia reached to begin the ninth, Tampa Bay could not push across another run.
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With this series in the books, the Rays look to get back to winning baseball as they finish their road trip in Toronto. Nick Martinez is scheduled to start against the Blue Jays with a 7:07 pm first pitch.
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