ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Having lost a season-high six straight to wrap up a miserable road trip, Rays manager Kevin Cash said before Tuesday’s game against the Red Sox at Tropicana Field they needed “to kind of get some things going our way again.”
They had a few, most notably a three-run, game-tying homer in the fifth from 20-year-old Wander Franco in his electrifying debut.
Also, when a pitch that got by Mike Zunino in the top of the 10th caromed back to the catcher and allowed him to toss to pitcher Pete Fairbanks for the first out, as they wriggled out of a first-and-third, no-out jam.
But there weren’t enough, and they made some mistakes as well, the biggest by first baseman Yandy Diaz letting a ground ball go through his legs in the 11th to scored two runs. Fairbanks allowed two more in a messy four-run inning.
By the end of the long night, the Red Sox had a 9-5 win, and the Rays another frustrating loss.
The Rays, who haven’t won since June 14, dropped to 43-31, 1-1/2 games behind the American League East-leading Red Sox.
They are now 3-9 in extra-inning games.
The Rays looked happy to be home when they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. And they did it without a hit out of the infield.
Leadoff man Yandy Diaz reached on a ground ball that third baseman Rafael Devers made an errant throw on. Franco, showing that discerning eye at the plate, turned an 0-2 count into a walk. After Austin Meadows flew out, Randy Arozarena beat out a slow roller to short for an infield single.
That loaded the bases, and they got two runs when Francisco Mejia hit a grounder that shortstop Xander Bogaerts had trouble with and then threw wildly.
That lead disappeared in a messy third by lefty Ryan Yarbrough, who had replaced opener Andrew Kittredge in the first.
Yarbrough gave up two runs by starting with a walk, a single and a double by J.D. Martinez. Another single and a sacrifice fly gave the Sox a 3-2 lead. And a two-run homer by ex-Ray Hunter Renfroe made it 5-2. After a flyout and a hit batsman on his 41st pitch of the inning, Yarbrough’s night was over.
The Rays came back in the fifth to tie it with Franco delivering the big blow.
Kevin Kiermaier was hit by an Eduardo Rodriguez pitch, and Diaz singled. Then Franco made his first big-league hit a memorable one, launching a three-run homer to left. The Tropicana Field crowd of 12,994 erupted, and Franco popped — or maybe was pushed — out of the dugout for a curtain call.
Franco became the seventh player in Rays history to homer in his big-league debut; Yoshi Tsutsugo did so last year.
The game was the first for the Rays and Red Sox under the new major-league edict to enforce rules forbidding use of any substances on the ball, and pitchers had their hats, gloves and belts checked.
The Rays had a chance for some drama in the ninth.
Kevin Kiermaier drew a leadoff walk from Sox right-hander Matt Barnes, then was called out after a replay review as Diaz grounded to second baseman Kike Hernandez, who tried to tag Kiermaier. The ball was knocked loose but rolled to shortstop Xander Bogaerts for the out. That brought up Franco, but he grounded to the pitcher, moving Diaz to second. But Austin Meadows took a called third strike to send the game into extra innings.
