The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox 8-4 on Tuesday night, and if you're a Red Sox fan, you might be wondering: can they just keep playing the Tigers?
After a promising sweep in Detroit over the weekend, Boston came crashing back to reality in St. Petersburg. The vibes were off from the start, and for good reason. Two of the team's most important players—Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony—remain sidelined, and their absence is proving to be a major hurdle for a club trying to build any real momentum this season.
Without those two key cogs in the lineup, the Red Sox offense looked punchless. When Trevor Story is hitting cleanup, you know things are getting desperate. The bats couldn't deliver, the pitching staff couldn't get the big outs when it mattered, and Boston dropped a listless game to a division rival they'll likely need to catch in the standings if they hope to make a playoff push.
Starting pitcher Bennett didn't exactly dominate. He managed just five swings and misses all night, but he chugged along, kept the walks in check, and worked into the sixth inning. It wasn't a "stud" performance by any stretch, but in a night like this, we're playing a little fast and loose with that term.
Speaking of studs, reliever Samaniego faced just two batters after Greg Weissert coughed up two runs in the sixth. But he sat them both down—something he's been doing to most hitters this season. A bright spot in an otherwise dim evening.
The most productive hitter in the Boston lineup tonight? That honor goes to a player who singled in the third and brought home a run on a sac fly in the eighth. That's all it took to be the top performer—by a wide margin.
As for Weissert, he can take some solace in knowing the BABIP gods were not on his side in the sixth. A couple of soft hits gave the Rays a two-run lead they wouldn't surrender. But the fickle nature of those baseball gods is exactly why relievers need to strike batters out when they come into tight games. Weissert didn't strike anyone out and walked a batter to boot. It's not his year, folks—something that's becoming all too clear in this frustrating stretch for the Red Sox.