ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ After a pair of late-night electrifying walk-off extra-inning victories, the Rays lost one by early walkover Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field.
The Red Sox ambushed left-hander Ryan Yarbrough with a four-run first inning, then cruised to a mostly sleepy 7-4 victory against the Rays.
The Rays, who conclude their four-game series against the Red Sox on Monday night, maintained a half-game lead over the Indians for the American League's second wild-card playoff spot (the Indians were scheduled to face the Phillies on Sunday night).
There was late excitement for the Rays when two-way pitcher Brendan McKay, used as a ninth-inning pinch-hitter, smacked his first major-league home run, a one-out shot off the right-field "D" ring.
By then, it was way too late.
Yarbrough (11-5), who hasn't won a decision since Aug. 11, opened the game with a strikeout of Jackie Bradley Jr. Then he surrendered five straight hits, including an RBI single by J.D. Martinez and a three-run homer by Christian Vazquez.
The Red Sox sent 10 men to the plate in the first inning and Bradley got another opportunity.
Yarbrough struck him out again, this time with the bases loaded, but the damage had been done.
The Rays tried to make a game of it. They scored single runs in each of the first three innings, including a second-inning RBI single by Kevin Kiermaier (who broke a career-high 0-for-22 slump) and a third-inning solo homer by Joey Wendle, to close within 4-3.
From there, though, the Red Sox put it away. Yarbrough was finished after allowing a leadoff double to Bradley in the fourth, then walking Rafael Devers. Reliever Andrew Kittredge further ignited the rally by plunking Xander Bogaerts with his first pitch to load the bases, then walking Martinez to force in a run. It became 6-3 when Devers scored from third on Kittredge's wild pitch.
In the seventh, the Red Sox made it 7-3 on Wendle's two-out fielding error at third. All the while, the Rays couldn't mount a substantial threat against Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi (2-0) and five relievers. The Rays went four consecutive innings without placing a runner in scoring position. In the seventh, Wendle drew a two-out walk, then went to second on Austin Meadows' single, but Tommy Pham grounded out.
