Rays Were on Wrong End of One of the Best MLB Game Finishes Last Season

The Tampa Bay Rays suffered one of the more excruciating losses in baseball last season.

Jul 13, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Tampa Bay Rays third base Junior Caminero (13) walks off of the field after striking out against the Boston Red Sox during the eighth inning at Fenway Park. | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

The 2025 MLB season wasn’t great for the Tampa Bay Rays, who won only 77 games and failed to qualify for the postseason for the second straight campaign after playing October baseball in five straight years.

There were several disappointing moments for the franchise, which were removed from their home of Tropicana Field because of Hurricane Milton. That meant playing all of their home games at Steinbrenner Field, the New York Yankees spring training home.

At one point, the Rays were 11 games over the .500 mark, looking like a potential playoff challenger in the American League. Alas, the wheels eventually fell off during the summer when Tampa Bay had to endure several lengthy road trips.

The schedule was built to avoid being in the Florida heat outdoors as much as possible, creating a tough situation for the Rays to navigate. There were a lot of low points with the losses racking up, including one night against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park that really stood out.

Rays suffered brutal loss to Red Sox at Fenway Park

Jul 11, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela (3) hits a two run home run to win the game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth inning at Fenway Park. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

On July 11, they faced off against their AL East rivals. The Red Sox were riding a seven-game winning streak, and Tampa Bay looked like it had what it took to snap that streak.

The Rays entered the bottom of the ninth inning with a one-run lead, turning to closer Pete Fairbanks to shut the door as he did so many times. Alas, that was just not his night, as Boston mounted a comeback that landed at No. 9 on the top 20 finishes of the 2025 MLB season, ranked by Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru and Jared Greenspan of MLB.com.

Fairbanks would end up walking star prospect Roman Anthony, who worked a five-pitch walk. With the tying run on base, Ceddanne Rafaela stepped to the plate as the game-winning run.

CEDDANNE RAFAELA HITS IT OUT OF FENWAY 😤

THE @REDSOX ARE WALK-OFF WINNERS! pic.twitter.com/6LEzWZVQ7E

— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2025

Facing a two-strike count, Tampa Bay’s closer had gained the edge. He threw a slider, looking to put Rafaela away. Alas, the Red Sox slugger had other ideas, launching the ball into the Boston night sky for a two-run, walk-off home run over the Green Monster.

The home run was measured at 406 feet by Statcast and helped the Red Sox to their eighth consecutive victory, keeping their momentum going. Boston would carry that success all the way through the end of the season, earning a wild-card spot after a tough start.

It was the beginning of what would be a long summer for the Rays. Owners of a 47-36 record on June 28, they would finish the season a brutal 30-49, falling out of the race and failing to win 80 games in a 162-game season for the first time since 2016.