Once again, it’s Sergio to the rescue for Rays

by Gary Shelton on August 20, 2018 · 0 comments

in general, Tampa Bay Rays

Romo collected his 100th save in the Rays' win./JEFFREY S. KING

Romo collected his 100th save in the Rays' win./JEFFREY S. KING

Monday, 3 a.m.

One hundred times, he has slammed the door.

One hundred times, he has taken away the last hope of an opponent.

Other men have done it more. Other men have done it better. But there is something to a skill that you have repeated 100 times. There is something to walking a tightrope. There is something to turning out the lights.

Sergio Romo notched the 100th save of his career Sunday afternoon in a 2-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox. One game after blowing up the previous Thursday night against the Yankees (two hits and a walk), Romo retired three Red Sox hitters in a row, including two by strikeout.

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Wendle homered in the second inning for Rays./JEFFREY S. KING

Wendle homered in the second inning for Rays./JEFFREY S. KING

Oh, let's face it. Romo's 100 saves is far short of Mariano Rivera's 652 or Trevor Hoffman's   601. There are 150 men with more saves in their careers.

Still, a milestone is a milestone.

"It meant a lot to me," Romo said. "It was a long time coming. I was that kid in the backyard telling my dad 'I'm going to get to the big leagues. I'm going to do certain things.'"

It was Romo's 16th save of the season, which makes it the third-best of his career.

Cron hit his second home run in two days./JEFFREY S. KING

Cron hit his second home run in two days./JEFFREY S. KING

"That’s awesome," Rays' manager Kevin Cash said. "That's pretty special. He's had a tremendous career."

The Rays, after losing two to Boston, snapped back as five pitchers combined fora two-hit shutout. Jalen Beeks was the winner, going four innings and allowing just one hit. Diego Castillo, Chaz Roe, Jose Alvarado and Romo also threw up zeroes.

The Rays' had only four hits, but two of them were homers by Joey Wendle in the second and C.J. Cron in the ninth.

“I felt good," Beeks said. "I didn’t pitch well the last two times I was here (Fenway Park). A lot of good things happened today. "

Beeks' best moment came in the fourth inning, when he had two runners on with no one out. He coaxed a double-play ball out of J.D. Martinez, however.

Beeks allowed one hit in four innings./JEFFREY S. KING

Beeks allowed one hit in four innings./JEFFREY S. KING

The Red Sox' only hits were a double by Xander Boegarts in the second and a single by Andrew Benintendi in the fourth.

The Rays kept their record above .500 with the victory. On the season, they are now 63-61.

Tampa Bay now returns home to face Kansas City. In tongiht's game (7:10 p.m.) Ryne Stanek will throw against Jorge Lopez.

 

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