The Rays had bigger things on the horizon Friday night, but they still needed to handle the Red Sox first. Instead, Boston did the early damage and Tampa Bay never quite climbed out of the hole, taking a 4-2 loss at Tropicana Field that snapped a six-game winning streak and trimmed the Rays’ AL East lead to 4 1/2 games, pending the Yankees’ late game in Arizona.
That result also shut the door on any chance of Tampa Bay clinching its first division title since 2021 at home. For that to happen, the Rays would have needed a three-game sweep and a Yankees sweep by the D-backs. So while next week’s four-game set at Yankee Stadium looms as the matchup that could decide the race, this weekend still mattered - especially with the Red Sox trying to lock up their own postseason spot before leaving town Sunday night.
Boston wasted little time getting in front. Roman Anthony launched a solo homer in the first inning and added a two-run single in the second against Ian Seymour, helping the Red Sox build a 4-1 cushion after three innings. That was enough support for Ranger Suarez, who limited the Rays to three hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Tampa Bay never stopped reaching base, though. The Rays drew nine walks and had chances throughout the night, but the big hit never arrived. They went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, a sharp break from the kind of timely offense that has carried them much of the season.
Their best opening came in the sixth, when they loaded the bases on three walks against Suarez and Wyatt Olds. Kevin Cash then turned to Jake Fraley as a pinch-hitter for Taylor Walls, but Fraley ran the count full and struck out looking at a 97.2 mph fastball.
Seymour lasted five innings, and the damage against him came in the form of the long ball. Anthony’s first-inning shot set the tone, and Jahmai Jones followed with a leadoff homer in the third.
Seymour has now allowed 21 home runs since returning to a starting/bulk-inning role, and 17 of them have come with the bases empty. At least one homer has left the yard against him in 15 of his 19 appearances.
In Other News...
Rays May Have Found A Bullpen Answer They Desperately Needed
The Rays have spent much of the 2026 season patching together their pitching staff after injuries piled up across the rotation and bullpen, with Ryan Pepiot, Edwin Uceta, Shane McClanahan, Garrett Cleavinger, Tyler Wells and Manuel Rodriguez all missing time. In that kind of churn, Tampa Bay has had little choice but to keep looking for help from within, and the latest answer may have come from an arm that was once being developed as a starter.
Brody Hopkins has already made the transition from starter to reliever, and early returns in the majors have been encouraging. The pitching prospect has shown obvious arm talent, better command in relief, and recently turned in an eye-catching outing backed by elite pitch metrics. For a Rays team that has been searching for stability anywhere it can find it, Hopkins is starting to look like more than just a temporary fix. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Waste Chance After Chance In Another Brutal Lineup Letdown
The Rays had more than enough chances to change the feel of the night and kept coming up empty, a frustrating theme in a game where the bullpen did its part and the offense never matched it. Tampa Bay went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12, the kind of missed opportunity total that usually tells the whole story before the final out is even recorded.
Boston did just enough damage to make those wasted at-bats loom larger, with Roman Anthony and Jahmai Jones each going deep and Anthony adding a two-run bases-loaded single. For Tampa Bay, the late relief work offered a glimmer of stability, but it only sharpened the contrast with a lineup that put traffic on the bases and never delivered the hit that could have flipped the game. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Let A Winnable Home Game Slip Away Against Boston
The Rays had the kind of home game that can turn quickly on a few missed chances, and Boston made sure they paid for it. Roman Anthony opened the scoring with a leadoff home run and finished with three RBIs, giving the Red Sox an early cushion while Ranger Suarez settled in for 5 2/3 innings to keep Tampa Bay from ever really taking control.
For the Rays, the frustrating part was how many openings they created without cashing in. They went 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position, the sort of inefficiency that can make a close game feel farther away than the final score suggests, even with the home crowd still waiting for a breakthrough that never came. [Read more 🡒]