Red Sox stay in contention with win over Rays
Just when it seems that Boston looks depleted and out of play-off contention, they claw their way back and breathe hope into the Red Sox nation with stellar performances. So it wasn’t surprising that the Red Sox would kicked off their series against the Tampa Bay Rays with a 12-5 victory on Monday night at Fenway Park.
After being swept last weekend against the Chicago White Sox, Boston’s offence erupted early and often against the Rays.The barrage started in the first two innings, with Boston running up the score with consecutive three-run innings.
Boston drilled back-to-back homers in the bottom of the first, after David Ortiz hit a two-run shot and Adrian Beltre blasted one deep into left field, to give Boston a 6-1 lead heading into the thrid frame.
After allowing six earned runs, Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon saw enough from his starting pitcher and decided to pull Jeff Niemann from the game after tossing 65 pitches in 1 2/3-inning. The move appeared to give the Rays a small boost and they did manage to score a run in the third inning to trim the lead to four. But that’s when things went from bad to worse, as the Red Sox were merciless and continued their assault on the Rays’ pitchers by adding five more runs in the fourth inning.
Ryan Kalish hit his second career grand slam in the bottom of the fourth to give the Red Sox a commanding 11-2 lead that they would never relenquish. "Oh man, what a good swing," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "I mean, [Rays reliever Andy] Sonnanstine at the time looked like he was having trouble commanding. He got a little cutter that came back over the plate and took a very welcome swing. Good for him."
Every game counts if the Red Sox want to make it into the post-season. Boston trails Tampa Bay by 6.5 games in the American League Wild Card standings with 24 games left in the season.
"Confidence is a huge thing," said Kalish. "Like I said, I try to go out there every day and not put too much pressure on yourself. You can't get too high on things, you can't get too low. Tomorrow you have to come back and get another win. We're playing from behind, and tonight [Monday] hopefully can give us a spark."
While Boston will be looking to build on their success, Tampa Bay will be looking to end a three-game losing skid. Despite their recent lacklustre performances, the Rays did not lose ground to the New York Yankees, who fell to the Orioles 4-3 last night, which leaves Tampa Bay 2.5 games out of first place in the American League East.
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