Tuesday, 4 a.m.
Say what you want about fast starts.
It doesn’t help when they’re followed by horrible endings.
The Tampa Bay Rays lost their third game in their last four Monday, falling to Boston 7-3. The bats remained without punch, and the bullpen collapsed.
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Early, it didn’t seem as if it was going to happen that way. The Rays scored three runs in a hurry, with four of their first five batters getting three hits and a walk and three runs. Brandon Lowe had a two-run single and Harold Ramirez had a run-scoring double.
And then it stopped.
The Rays had just two hits the rest of the way as Brayan Bello settled in and dominated the Rays.
As for the Rays’ pitching, starter Aaron Civale deserved a better fate. He allowed just one hit through five innings, and three through 5 1/3. He had a career-high 12 strikeouts.
But Chris Devenski suffered another brutal outing. He gave up a three-run homer two pitches into the game in his stint. He lasted just 2/3 of an inning and took the loss.
Then, in the eighth, it was Andrew Kittredge who imploded. He gave up three runs and three hits in two-thirds of an inning.
The Rays and Red Sox play again tonight at 6:40 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Zach Eflin will start for the Rays against Kutter Crawford.