Tuesday, 4 a.m.
What? They won by only one?
Shouldn't heads roll?
The Tampa Bay Rays, as good as they have ever been, ran their record to 10-0 Monday night with a 1-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox. For the first time all season, the Rays didn't win by at least four, and they didn't run up the score.
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But they won, and to tell the truth, it felt a lot more like a Rays' win than the lopsided scores they have put up this season.
The Rays shut out an opponent for the third straight game, impressive since it was the No. 5 spot in the pitching rotation. Josh Fleming had been lit up in his first outing, giving up five runs and 10 hits in three innings.. This time, he went four innings and allowed just three hits.
It was a stellar night for the bullpen. Colin Poche worked his way out of a jam in the eighth inning, striking out Rafael Devers with the bases loaded in a scoreless game.
In the ninth, after a solo home run by Brandon Lowe, Pete Fairbanks came on for the team's first save of the season.
The Rays got the only run they would need in the bottom of the eighth when Lowe hit a solo homer to right on a full count. It was Lowe's third straight game with a homer. Over that stretch, he's four-for-nine with nine RBI.
“Pretty impressive," said Rays' manager Kevin Cash. "The whole at bat. Chris Martin is a pretty good reliever. We don’t have many reps against him. Brandon had a really good at bat."
The Rays play the Red Sox again tonight at 6:40 p.m. at Tropicana Field. The Rays will start Shane McClanahan. Boston has not announced their starter.