The Rays had traffic everywhere and almost nothing to show for it in a 4-2 loss to the Red Sox.
Tampa Bay put runners on all night and still finished 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, stranding 12. Both of the Rays’ runs came on fielder’s choices, one in the first inning and one in the final frame. Boston wasn’t exactly sharp in those spots either, going 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and leaving nine on, but the Red Sox made their chances count with solo homers from Roman Anthony and Jahmai Jones, plus a two-run bases-loaded single by Anthony that supplied the rest of the offense.
Neither starter had complete command, but Ranger Suarez did enough in the biggest moments to keep Tampa Bay from cashing in. Ian Seymour, on the other hand, couldn’t get the same kind of outs when the game was hanging in the balance.
The Rays’ bullpen was excellent over the final four innings, as Ty Johnson, Casey Legumina, and Alex Cook combined to allow two singles while striking out six. It just didn’t matter because the offense kept running into dead ends.
Suarez only missed bats six times, but three of those swings stood out. In the second inning, Yandy Diaz had two runners on and couldn’t hold back on a cutter high and away that would have caught the zone if he hadn’t offered at it.
In the third, Jonny DeLuca was in the box with two on and took a 2-2 sinker in a spot that was ruled strike three by ABS. Then in the fifth, with the bases empty, Junior Caminero got frozen by a 3-2 sinker.
Tampa Bay also struck out six more times and repeatedly came up empty in the key innings: the first, second, fifth, sixth, and ninth. The fifth inning was the biggest missed chance of all.
The Rays loaded the bases on three walks, then Jake Fraley struck out to end the threat. Fraley, not Richie Palacios, got the pinch-hit call in that spot, which was a little surprising considering he had just rejoined the team on Thursday and had only two major league plate appearances since mid-May.
The numbers say Fraley has been a monster in a tiny bases-loaded sample, hitting .414 with two grand slams and 37 RBIs in 36 plate appearances. But in 2026, he’s now 0-for-5 with the bases loaded, with four strikeouts and an infield popout.
This kind of stranded-run mess has shown up elsewhere around the league, and the source of this one was the same: missed chances. The Rays had enough opportunities to flip the game, but never found the timely hit that would have changed the story.
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Roman Anthony supplied one of the key blows for Boston, while Rays starter Ian Seymour ran into the same problem that has trailed him through much of the season as he has been taken deep on multiple solo home runs. Tampa Bay also left too many chances on the table with runners in scoring position, the sort of missed opportunity that can make a perfectly ordinary night feel expensive when the division margin is shrinking. [Read more 🡒]