Ramos stings Sale, Sox
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With ace Chris Sale on the mound and the Red Sox facing a rookie still in his first month in the majors, last night’s series opener against Tampa Bay looked to be a chance to set the tone against a Rays team that has surprised as a lingering wildcard contender.
But the hosts surprised the AL East division leaders, with starter Jacob Faria continuing his early success and catcher Wilson Ramos driving in three runs in a 4-1 victory at Tropicana Field.
“With all the hype this series is getting, this is the way to start it off,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Probably went up against baseball’s best in Chris Sale, and he made it very challenging.”
On a night when the Sox lost Xander Bogaerts in the first inning when he was hit by a pitch on the right hand, his replacement had good and bad moments. Deven Marrero, who stepped in at third with Tzu-Wei Lin sliding to short, had a sacrifice fly for an early lead. But in the sixth, Evan Longoria’s sharp grounder went under his glove for a double, setting the stage for Ramos’ two-run homer that extended the Rays’ lead to 4-1.
X-rays were negative on Bogaerts, who is day-to-day with a contusion.
“It doesn’t feel good,” Bogaerts said. “We’ll see how it comes in tomorrow, but as of now it’s pretty sore. I am (encouraged by the X-rays) but I’m not encouraged by how it’s feeling. Hopefully it feels better tomorrow when I wake up.”
Sale was sharp early, getting eight strikeouts in the first 10 outs, but the Rays had seven hits, including a solo shot by Peter Bourjos for the lead in the fifth. Sale struck out 12, extending his major-league lead to 178 on the season, but gave up more than three runs for the first time since he surrendered six at the White Sox on May 30.
“A lot of swing and miss. A couple of pitches that didn’t get to the intended area came back to haunt him a little bit, but he was strong,” Sox manager John Farrell said about his starter. “All three pitches were working here again tonight, but Ramos is the one guy in that lineup that came back to haunt him a little bit tonight.”
Faria held his own against Sale, limiting the Red Sox to one run on four hits. The right-hander has now started his major-league career with six straight quality starts, sporting a 2.11 ERA.
The Sox had scored at least six runs per game during a six-game winning streak, but they were shut down offensively for the second straight night.
Texas held them to three hits in an 8-2 loss Wednesday, and they managed only five last night. Tampa Bay’s bullpen, which gave up seven runs in a loss to the Cubs on Wednesday, bounced back with three scoreless innings of relief. Alex Colome got his 23rd save, tying the Sox’ Craig Kimbrel for the American League lead.
The Red Sox scrapped for a run in the third, starting with a walk by No. 9 hitter Lin. A one-out single by Dustin Pedroia put runners on the corners, and Marrero’s sacrifice fly gave the Sox a 1-0 lead.
Tampa Bay answered to tie the game in the fourth, as Logan Morrison singled and scored on an RBI double by Ramos. The catcher also threw out two Sox runners on the basepaths. Andrew Benintendi had a leadoff single in the second but was caught trying to steal, and Lin was thrown out to end the fifth after trying to take third on a pitch that got away from Ramos.
The Sox’ first trip to Tropicana this year drew a crowd of 23,375, the Rays’ third-highest this season. The Sox will try to even the series tonight with lefthander Drew Pomeranz on the mound against Tampa Bay’s Jake Odorizzi.