Alex Cobb allowed only one hit over his first six innings../STEVEN MUNCIE
Saturday, 2 a.m.
You've seen this before.
The Tampa Bay Rays were in the middle of a mess. A big lead was dwindling. The defense was faulty. The opponent was coming back. Alex Colome was being asked to work overtime.
And then the Rays slammed the door.
For once.
The Rays held on to beat the Boston Red Sox Friday night, winning 5-4. The team overcame a four-run seventh, and three errors, and 10 strikeouts and a failure to score after the fifth inning.
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Evan Longoria had a double and two-run homer./STEVEN MUNCIE
Alex Cobb was very good for the Rays, holding the Red Sox to one hit through six innings. He finished with a four hitter. Alex Colome got four outs for his ninth save.
“Things got a little sketchy there in the seventh,” said Rays' manager Kevin Cash. “Alex was outstanding. He really threw the ball well. It says a lot about him. He has a new approach with his fastball and curveball. He's like a new pitcher now.”
The game brought back memories of past blown games. Tampa Bay has had leads in 23 of its last 25 games, but have lost 14 of those.
“We had an opportunity to really cave,” Cobb said. “Things were working against us. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot. We have got to win ballgames like that.”
The game slipped away from Cobb on a bloop double to right, a walk, an infield single and three errors.
The Rays nailed down the win, however. Colome hasn't fared well when asked to go more than one inning, but he went 1 1/3 and didn't give up a hit.
Evan Longoria had a double and a home run. Rickie Weeks, Kevin Kiermaier and Derek Norris all had two hits.
The Rays play this afternoon (changed from tonight) when Blake Snell pitches against Chris Sale.
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