Rays Hold off Late-Charging Red Sox for Much-Needed Bounce Back

The Tampa Bay Rays are back on track after a nice win against the Boston Red Sox.

Jun 10, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Taylor Walls (6) throws to first base against Boston Red Sox third baseman Caleb Durbin (5) during the third inning at Tropicana Field. | Pablo Robles-Imagn Images

The Tampa Bay Rays were cruising to an easy victory against the Boston Red Sox behind a dominant performance from their starting pitcher, Drew Rasmussen.

He mowed down the competition through his seven innings of work, allowing only two hits and issuing one walk. Not a single run was allowed, as he also racked up a career-high 13 strikeouts, exiting the game with a 5-0 lead.

Alas, the Rays' bullpen was shaky, leading to some anxious moments down the stretch. The Red Sox scored four runs in the top of the eighth inning, with two coming against Cole Sulser and two against Steven Matz.

Each of them recorded one out before Casey Legumina was called upon to finish out the frame. Tampa Bay was able to get two runs back in the bottom of the eighth courtesy of Cedric Mullins, who hit his sixth home run of the year.

Rays complete sweep of Red Sox behind Drew Rasmussen

Jun 5, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Drew Rasmussen (57) throws against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at loanDepot Park. | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

The Rays were certainly fortunate that he took Justin Slaten deep because Boston added another run at the top of the ninth inning off Garrett Cleavinger, who was called upon to get the save with Bryan Baker picking up saves each of the last two days.

Caleb Durbin hit his second home run of the afternoon off Cleavinger, cutting the lead to 7-5. Fortunately, that is the closest the Red Sox would get, as Isiah Kiner-Falefa walked after that and Andruw Monasterio was struck out to end the game.

And with that strikeout, Tampa Bay completed the sweep of its American League East rivals. It was a much-needed bounce back for the Rays, who dropped a series to the Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins heading into the matchup with Boston.

Along with Mullins’ late-game heroics, Tampa Bay received excellent contributions from Yandy Diaz, Nick Fortes and Taylor Walls offensively.

Bean a pleasure #RaysUp | #RaysWin pic.twitter.com/RELxjEpBSX

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) June 10, 2026

Diaz had RBI singles in the fifth and sixth innings, scoring Fortes both times. The catcher had a day to remember, going 4-for-4 at the plate and scoring three runs, consistently setting the table for his teammates.

Walls, more known for his work with the glove than bat, went 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored, adding a stolen base as well.

Contributions were made up and down the lineup, with Ryan Vilade and Ben Williamson being the only starters who didn’t have a hit in the game. However, Vilade did pitch in with a sac fly during the three-run bottom of the fifth.

The Rays will now have a day off tomorrow before starting a six-game West Coast trip against the Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers.