Oh, Baby! Rays Strike Early, Don't Stop in Easy 8-4 Win over Red Sox as Bullpen Shines
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tampa Bay didn't waste any time making a bold statement against the Boston Red Sox Tuesday night. This game was decided practically before it even started.
The Rays jumped all over 42-year-old Rich Hill in the first inning, scoring three runs on his first seven pitches, and cruised from there to an easy 8-4 victory Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. The Rays had 13 hits.
This was the same Rich Hill — though, granted, he was 10 days younger — who struck out 11 Rays in an Aug. 27 Boston win at Fenway Park.
What a different a few days makes. And, oh baby, this was fun.
The Rays started the game with a Yandy Diaz double, a Manuel Margot single and a Randy Arozarena home run within those first seven pitches to take a quick 3-0 lead. It was the perfect start considering the Rays were in emergency mode on their end, needing to throw together a bullpen day after starter Drew Rasmussen had something better to do — witness the birth of his first child. He and his wife Stevie welcome son Rhett into the world early Tuesday morning, a few days earlier than planned.
No one in baseball does bullpen days like the Rays anyway, so dealing with it on Tuesday, even in an unplanned situation, was really no big deal. The Rays used six pitchers. Opener JT Chargois and Jalen Beeks each gave up two-run homers, but everyone else was perfect while playing with a lead. Brooks Raley
It's just what they do.
"The bullpen stepped up and did what we do,'' said Raley, who allowed just one hit and lowered his ERA to 2.12 on the season. "Guys settled in, but you know how it is. You've got to get nine innings and piece it all together, and the guys did a good job. But with the first three guys getting on and Randy doing his thing, it makes our job easier as pitchers. This group throws a ton of strikes, and we're used to it. It's the Rays way.
"We're accustomed to it, using the openers, and we're well prepared for those moments. It was a play-it-by-ear thing today, a pending thing. But everyone is willing to step up and do their job. The bullpen is a different animal from the dugout and we've got a lot of characters down there. We're always rooting for each other on days like this, and I'm the biggest cheerleader down there.''
With the win, the Rays moved to 76-58 on the season, and are 18 games over .500 for the first time all year. They are now just 4.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East race. The Rays play the Red Sox again Wednesday night and are off on Thursday before traveling to New York for a huge three-game series this weekend. The Yankees, who were rained out on Tuesday, now have to play a doubleheader with the Twins on Wednesday and a single game on Thursday before seeing the Rays.
The Rays never trailed in this one, and they are now 11-4 on the season against the Red Sox and 8-1 at Tropicana Field. It was their eighth straight win vs. Boston, their longest win streak against them in franchise history.
Boston made it 3-2 in the second when rookie phenom Tristan Casas hit his first career home run. But the Rays got them right back in the third, Margot singled, Arozarena doubled and Harold Ramirez, who was celebrating his 28th birthday, drove them both in with a single to left to make it 5-2. Hill (6-6) lasted just four innings.
The Rays added two more in the sixth when Christian Bethancourt and Yu Chang homered in consecutive at-bats. It was the fourth time the Rays had hit back-to-back homers this season, but the first time since early July in Toronto.
They scored again in the eighth when Arozarena doubled for the second time, and scored on Francisco Mejia's double into the gap.
Arozarena's homer was his 19th of the season, taking over the team lead again from Isaac Paredes, who has 18. Arozarena also leads the team in hits (132), doubles (34), extra-base hits (55) and RBIs (74). It was the third time in his career that he had three extra-base hits in the same game, last week in Boston and last year against Baltimore.
"It's good to see the offense explode. Everyone's just doing their part,'' Arozarena said through interpreter Manny Navarro. "It's very important to get ahead early, because it gives us confidence and helps us relax. It helps our pitchers, too. I think every pitcher did their part.
"I'm happy I hit No. 19 today and I'm planning on hitting No. 20 tomorrow.
The two teams wrap up the series on Wednesday with Jeffrey Springs (7-4, 2.62 ERA) taking the mound for Tampa Bay. He'll take on veteran Nick Pivetta 9-10, 4.37 ERA), who gets the call for Boston. The game starts at 6:40 p.m. ET.
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