The Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays played one of the wildest games of the 2021 season Monday afternoon at Fenway Park. The Red Sox jumped out to an early 7-1 lead, but the Rays battled back against Chris Sale and eventually won the game in 10 innings (TB 11, BOS 10). Tampa has the American League's best record at 87-51.
"It was a great bad game," Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters, including Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, following the game. "... You can't give a big-league team more than 27 outs. We didn't make plays and that cost us."
Boston seemed to take control of the game in the second inning, when the BoSox scored six runs on five hits, one hit batsman, one walk (intentional), and one sacrifice fly. The Rays began their comeback in the fourth inning thanks to a Nelson Cruz little league grand slam. Alex Verdugo had trouble with the sun and there was some relay throw weirdness as well. The video:
The play was originally scored a triple and an error before the triple was changed to a three-base error, as it should have been. I know the sun was a challenge, but that's a catch that has to be made. It didn't require an extraordinary effort or anything like that. All four runs go into the books as unearned. On the scoreboard, they all count the same.
The Rays continued their charge in the late innings and scored a run in the sixth, a run in the seventh, a run in the eighth, and then a run in the ninth to tie the game 9-9. Austin Meadows knotted things up with an inside-the-park home run against Garrett Whitlock to lead off the ninth inning. To the action footage:
Verdugo misplayed the ball at the wall and neither corner outfielder (Hunter Renfroe in right and JD Martinez in left) bothered to back up the play. No. 12 who picked up the ball? That's shortstop José Iglesias, who the Red Sox signed Monday morning to help cover while shortstop Xander Bogaerts is on the COVID list. The shortstop had to back up the center fielder. Yikes.
In addition to Boston's outfield defense, Monday's comeback was made possible by the oldest hitter in the American League and the youngest hitter in baseball. Cruz, at 41 years and 67 days, went 3 for 6 with a home run and three runs driven in. That doesn't include the little league grand slam. He hit a real homer and drove in three other runs later in the game.
As for Wander Franco, he went 4 for 6 with a triple and scored three runs. At 20 years and 189 days, Franco became the youngest player with a four-hit game at Fenway Park since Tony Conigliaro on April 18, 1965 (20 years and 101 days). Franco has reached base in 36 straight games now, tying Mickey Mantle's AL record for a player age 20 or younger.
Monday was Tampa's first win when trailing by at least six runs and Boston's first loss when leading by at least six runs this season. The Rays had been 0-11 and the Red Sox had been 21-0 in such games. This is also Boston's largest blown lead against the Rays ever. According to FanGraphs, the Red Sox had a 95.9 percent chance to win the game at one point in the fourth inning.
"We have no excuses. We have to win that game," Cora told Speier.
With the loss, Boston remains a half-game behind the Yankees for the first AL wild card spot. New York was blown out by the Blue Jays on Monday.