Rays Stunned by Walk-Off Blast from Boston's Ceddanne Rafaela in 5-4 Loss

On consecutive days, Fenway Park has been the place of nightmares for the Tampa Bay Rays' bullpen.

Friday night, with one out and one on for the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth, Tampa Bay clung to a 4-3 lead. Throughout the evening, the Red Sox never led, and Rays veteran closer Pete Fairbanks just had to get through two more batters to end the night with a win and a tied series.

Boston center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, one of the best hitters in the league over the past two weeks, spoiled the scenario.

With a 1-2 count, Rafaela jumped on an 86 mph slider in the bottom of the zone, crushing it 406 feet over the Green Monster and out of Fenway Park.

The crowd erupted; Fairbanks looked onward, dejected, as the hottest team in baseball jumped the Rays in the American League East standings with one swing, snatching their hearts in the process in a 5-4 victory.

CEDDANNE RAFAELA HITS IT OUT OF FENWAY 😤

THE @REDSOX ARE WALK-OFF WINNERS! pic.twitter.com/6LEzWZVQ7E
— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2025

Rafaela's walk-off homer was the climactic point of another comeback win over Tampa Bay. After a three-run third inning, the Rays enjoyed a 4-1 lead. Then, the offense stalled, and the bullpen stumbled as the Red Sox scored four unanswered runs en route to their eighth straight victory.

The result was eerily similar to Thursday night's loss, but worse. Again, the Rays squandered control, the common denominator being an offense failing to add insurance and a bullpen that couldn't protect the lead at hand. Now, the Rays are 4-10 in their past 14 games and have fallen into fourth place in the rugged AL East, five games behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.

"Certainly, what is going on here as of late with our pen struggles is unfortunate," Rays manager Kevin Cash said after the loss. "Guys that you care a lot about and want to see them have success, and right now, it's difficult to come by."

It was the first home run Fairbanks surrendered this season, and a moment he plans on forgetting as the Rays try to navigate their way out of a slump.

"You get a bad pitch, you get a bad result, and we go home unhappy," Fairbanks said. "We're gonna be goldfish and forget about it."

He continued: "It certainly hasn't been fun. You're gonna have these spots. I'll bear the brunt of this one, and we'll deal with it, and we'll move on.

The Rays (50-45) will look to avoid their fifth consecutive series loss on Saturday when they face the Red Sox (51-45) at 4:10 p.m. ET. Rays right-hander Shane Baz (8-4, 4.34 ERA) is scheduled to square off against All-Star southpaw Garrett Crochet (9-4, 2.39).

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