Reliever Bryan Baker Crumbles in Debut as Rays Lose 4-3 to Red Sox in key AL East game

For a while on Thursday night, it looked like everything was going right for the Tampa Bay Rays in their series opener against the Boston Red Sox.

Center fielder Chandler Simpson hit an infield single to set the franchise record for the longest hitting streak by a rookie at 14 games. Later, shortstop Ha-Seong Kim launched a two-run blast over the Green Monster in the fourth inning to give him his first home run in a Rays jersey and his team a 2-1 lead. Junior Caminero followed suit in the sixth, crushing a solo shot to give him his 23rd home run of the season and his second in as many games.

Then, with a 3-1 lead late in the game, disaster struck for newly acquired right-hander Bryan Baker and the Rays.

Just hours earlier, Baker hopped on a plane to Boston after the Baltimore Orioles traded him to Tampa Bay for the No. 37 overall pick in Sunday's 2025 MLB Draft. Not long after, he was pitching in relief of starter Taj Bradley in the bottom of the seventh. Baker walked the first two batters he faced before giving up a double to Red Sox third baseman Marcelo Mayer to cut the Rays' lead to 3-2.

Center fielder Cedanne Rafaela followed suit, snatching the lead away from Baker and the Rays with a two-RBI single to center to give the Red Sox a 4-3 lead they would carry to their seventh straight victory.

In one inning, Baker allowed three earned runs, two hits and two walks while striking out one batter. His first time in a Rays uniform ended in a loss.

"You feel for him the way it went, That's not how you draw it up for sure," Rays manager Kevin Cash said after the loss. "Got behind some guys, the Red Sox did a good job of not expanding, not helping him out, then it just kind of snowballed from there."

Baker lamented the walks he allowed while admitting it was not easy to find his footing.

"Just didn't come in ready to roll," Baker said. "I think I was just kind of struggling getting calibrated there for the first two or three hitters. It just took me longer than it needed to to find my footing."

"The walks are inexcusable, so we've got to be able to throw strikes in those spots and not give out free passes."

After a six-inning outing with five strikeouts and only one earned run, Bradley empathized with his new teammate.

"You feel for him, man," Bradley said. "You're coming into a new team, and you want to make a statement, you want to let them know that you came here to win."

Bradley added: "So, we still believe in him, the team believes in him, we got him for a reason, so I think next game, he's going to come out and do better."

Clinging to a half-game lead over Boston for the second Americal League wild-card spot, the Rays will look to regain control in Game 2 of the series on Friday at 7:10 p.m. The Rays' Drew Rasmussen (7-5, 2.82 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound against fellow right-hander Hunter Dobbins (4-1, 4.10).

Related Rays Stories