Richie Palacios had been waiting for a moment like this, and the Rays had been waiting even longer.
On Saturday at Tropicana Field, with two outs and runners in scoring position in the ninth inning, Palacios lifted a soft bloop to shallow right field off Garrett Whitlock. Junior Caminero scored from third, Tampa Bay walked off Boston 2-1, and the Rays finally snapped a brutal run of empty chances against the Red Sox.
The hit came after Tampa Bay had gone 0-for-33 in its last 33 at-bats with runners in scoring position against Boston. Palacios’ single gave him his second career walk-off plate appearance and delivered the Rays’ third walk-off win of the homestand in front of 27,402.
It also pushed Tampa Bay one step closer to something bigger. The Rays have now won seven of their last eight and moved 4 1/2 games ahead in the American League East race, pending the Yankees’ game in Arizona on Saturday night.
Freddy Peralta did his part long before the late drama arrived. The right-hander worked 5 2/3 innings, gave up one run and struck out six, continuing a sharp stretch since Aug.
- Over his last five starts, he has posted a 0.94 ERA and looked every bit like a front-line arm again.
Peralta’s stuff had extra life on Saturday. His four-seam fastball averaged 96.4 mph, which was 2.2 mph above his season average, and he touched 98.7 mph on his hardest pitch of the year, the third-hardest he has thrown all season.
Boston’s lone run came in the third. Caleb Durbin opened the inning with a double to left, then scored on Roman Anthony’s two-out double to center.
Tampa Bay answered right away. Jonathan Aranda led off the fourth by launching his 22nd homer of the season to left field, and that was the Rays’ only damage against Brayan Bello.
The middle innings turned into another test of patience, and for much of the afternoon, Boston kept winning those small battles. Tampa Bay didn’t even come to the plate with runners in scoring position until the seventh, after going a combined 0-for-28 in those spots over its previous two games against the Red Sox.
That chance slipped away fast. Liam Hicks and Chandler Simpson started the inning with singles, then pinch-runner Jonny DeLuca and Simpson moved up on Victor Mesa Jr.’s groundout. Palacios then rolled one to shortstop Trevor Story, who threw out DeLuca at the plate, and Cedric Mullins struck out to leave two runners stranded.
The Rays kept grinding, though, and Palacios got the last word when it mattered most.
In Other News...
Rays Deliver The Kind Of Win Red Sox Fans Hated
A tight game between the Rays and Red Sox had the feel of October, with both clubs getting strong pitching and enough traffic on the bases to make every half-inning matter. Tampa Bay kept finding ways to hang around through the scoring chances and the miscues, then finished it off in the most frustrating way possible for Boston, with Richie Palacios delivering the walk-off hit.
For the Red Sox, the loss did more than sting in the standings, because it kept them from clinching a postseason spot that day. The clubs move on to the next game in the series with Griffin Jax set to start against Patrick Sandoval, and after a finish like this one, the pressure on both dugouts only gets sharper. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Bullpen Picture Just Got More Complicated Before October
Casey Legumina gave the Rays another reminder that bullpen help can come from anywhere when he worked two scoreless innings with four strikeouts against the Red Sox. In a stretch where Tampa Bay has been sorting through injuries and shifting roles, outings like that matter because the club is trying to map out a relief mix it can trust once the games tighten up in October.
Ian Seymour is part of that same evaluation, with the Rays still weighing how best to use him as the regular season winds down. The late-inning picture has become more fluid by the day, and performances like Leguminas are pushing their way into the conversation at exactly the moment Tampa Bay needs clarity most. [Read more 🡒]
Rays May Be Walking Into The Yankees' Biggest Late-Season Threat
With nine games left in the regular season, the race above Tampa Bay still has a little room for movement, and the Yankees have at least one pitcher capable of making it interesting. Cam Schlittler has become New Yorks ace and a real AL Cy Young contender, piling up a 14-6 record, a 1.95 ERA and 228 strikeouts in 31 starts. He is slated to take the ball against the Rays in the upcoming series, with another start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.
For Tampa Bay, that makes this next stretch feel a little less routine than the standings might suggest. New York is four games back, but a frontline starter in form can change the mood of a late-season series quickly, especially when the calendar is this short and every game still carries some weight. The Rays do not need to be caught off guard by the matchup, though they may already be walking into the one weapon the Yankees can lean on to make the final week uncomfortable. [Read more 🡒]