Victor Mesa Jr. gave the Rays a jolt at Fenway Park on Sunday, but the rest of the afternoon belonged to Boston.
Mesa’s inside-the-park homer in the second inning put Tampa Bay in front, yet the Red Sox flipped the game in a third inning that featured no hits and still produced three runs. Boston went on to win 6-1, finishing off a four-game sweep and handing the Rays their fifth straight loss, their longest skid of the season. The Red Sox, meanwhile, stretched their winning streak to 13.
Mesa’s blast was the kind of swing that can change a game in a hurry. He opened the second by driving a ball into the right-center-field gap, then never slowed down as he circled the bases for his seventh home run of the year. It gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead without the ball ever leaving the park.
The Rays had a chance to build on it. Richie Palacios singled and stole second, and Taylor Walls drew a walk, but Sonny Gray escaped by retiring the next three hitters and leaving both runners stranded.
Boston answered right back in the bottom half. Caleb Durbin singled to start the inning, stole second, and moved to third when Hunter Feduccia’s throw sailed away into centerfield.
Andruw Monasterio then doubled to left to tie the game. Feduccia helped limit the damage by throwing out Jarren Duran trying to steal second, and Shane McClanahan got out of the inning with the score still even at 1-1.
Tampa Bay had another opening in the third. Cedric Mullins walked, Chandler Simpson doubled, and the Rays had runners at second and third with one out. Gray shut it down from there, striking out Mesa after an unsuccessful Rays challenge and getting Palacios on a fly ball.
That missed chance hurt almost immediately.
McClanahan walked Jahmai Jones to begin the bottom of the third, then retired Ceddanne Rafaela. Wilyer Abreu was hit by a pitch, and Willson Contreras drew a walk after a Red Sox challenge confirmed ball three.
With the bases loaded, Feduccia’s passed ball let Jones score the go-ahead run. Durbin then hit a grounder to Junior Caminero, but Caminero’s throw struck Abreu as he scored, with Contreras moving to third and Durbin reaching second.
Romy Gonzalez followed with a groundout that brought Contreras home, and Boston had a 4-1 lead without recording a hit in the inning.
Gray protected that cushion the rest of the way. Jonathan Aranda led off the fifth with a single, but Gray retired Caminero, Mullins and Simpson in order. Tampa Bay wasted another chance in the sixth when Walls grounded into an inning-ending double play after Palacios walked.
Boston added insurance in the fifth when Rafaela singled and Contreras launched McClanahan’s next pitch into the right-center-field seats. It was Contreras’ 22nd home run and pushed the Red Sox ahead 6-1.
McClanahan’s final line reflected a rough day all around: six runs allowed, four earned, on five hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out three, matching his season low.
The Rays actually out-hit Boston, 8-6, but they went 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Even with Feduccia doubling in the seventh and Walls and Feduccia reaching to open the ninth, Tampa Bay never found another run.
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