Isaac Paredes knocked in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays claimed a four-game series victory over the host Boston Red Sox with a 7-5 win on Thursday.
The Red Sox climbed out of a 5-2 deficit to tie the game on Jarren Duran’s solo home run in the sixth, but Paredes’ base hit off the Green Monster in left field and Richie Palacios’ sacrifice fly broke the tie in the ninth.
Paredes and Jonathan Aranda had two hits apiece to lead Tampa Bay. Josh Lowe homered and matched Palacios with two RBIs.
There was drama in Boston’s ninth as Jason Adam was forced to leave the game with Rob Refsnyder (walk) and Rafael Devers (single) on with two outs, as Red Sox manager Alex Cora successfully challenged Tampa Bay’s number of mound visits.
Erasmo Ramirez came in and induced a grounder from Romy Gonzalez to save the win for Manuel Rodriguez (1-1). It was Ramirez’s first save of the season.
Duran went 3-for-5, adding two doubles. He also scored twice from the top of the Boston lineup. Devers also went deep and scored twice, while Garrett Cooper drove in two.
Kenley Jansen (1-1) took the loss.
Boston starter Cooper Criswell was sharp during a 1-2-3 first inning, but Tampa Bay worked his pitch count up to 75 and totaled three runs through three frames.
The Rays manufactured the opening run in the second as Palacios registered an RBI groundout after Aranda walked and moved across to third on Isaac Paredes’ line single to left.
Devers cleared the Monster for a solo homer in Boston’s second.
A leadoff walk to Jose Siri also bit the Red Sox in the third. Two batters later, Lowe sent a two-run homer to right to put Tampa Bay back in front.
Criswell exited after the Rays plated two more in the fourth. Jose Caballero scored the first on a wild pitch after reaching on an error and taking third on Ben Rortvedt’s one-out double to left.
Rortvedt crossed the plate with the visitors’ fifth run on Yandy Diaz’s groundout, leading to Brennan Bernardino replacing Criswell.
Duran started Boston’s fifth-inning rally with a leadoff wall-ball double and later scored on Dominic Smith’s grounder. Garrett Cooper followed with a two-run double into the left-field corner, the big blow against starter Zack Littell.
In five innings, Littell surrendered four runs on seven hits with one walk and three strikeouts.
Duran then tied the game in the sixth with a solo shot over the Boston bullpen.
–Field Level Media