Rays lose third in a row against Boston

by Gary Shelton on October 4, 2022

in general

Tuesday, 3 a.m.

Believe it or not, the Tampa Bay Rays are thinking about the playoffs. It just doesn't look like it.

The Rays lost again Monday night, their third in a row, and again, they did it without playing their best. The Rays dropped a 4-3 come-from-ahead game to the Boston Red Sox on a night where winning didn't seem to be the highest priority for the team.


Content beyond this point is for members only.

Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo)!

Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.


Sunday, it was Wander Franco and Yandy Diaz who got the day off. Monday night, it was the regulars from the team's bullpen. In other words, for this team, rest seems to be a higher goal than adding another victory to the total.

"Once we realized we weren’t going to have an opportunity at home field, the best we can do is make sure we’re 100 percent going into the post-season," manager Kevin Cash said. "We know we’re going to lean on those guys."

And so, when starter Tyler Glasnow was pulled with two outs in the third inning (he's recovering from Tommy John surgery), Cash went with rookie Kevin Herget.  And he stuck with Herget through a three run sixth inning. He stuck with him when he gave up the go-ahead run in the seventh. He stuck with him threw seven hits and four runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Glasnow threw 64 pitches, 27 of them in the first inning. But he allowed two hits and no runs in his stint.

It seemed like that might be enough after home runs by Wander Franco and Manny Margot gave the Rays a 3-0 lead. But Tampa Bay got just five hits (another low output) on the night.

The Rays had a shot in the ninth inning. Franco, who had three of the team's five hits, tripled with one out. He made the turn at third but was held as the throw went up the third-base line.

The next batter, Harold Ramirez, hit a grounder to third base. Franco was going on contact and was caught in a rundown to end the threat.

"When the ball's hit right at you, you’re automatically in no man’s land," Cash said. "That’s the last place we needed the ball to go and it went there."

The Rays play their next-to-last game of the season tonight in Boston, facing the Red Sox at 7:10 p.m. at Fenway Park. Jeffrey Springs will start for the Rays against Nathan Eovaldi.

Previous post:

Next post: