Red Sox Top Rays Crochet Earns 17th Win
Red Sox Outlast Rays in Slugfest, Crochet Picks Up 17th Win
ST. PETERSBURG — Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela sparked the offense as the Boston Red Sox powered past the Tampa Bay Rays in a high-scoring series opener on Friday night.
Duran went 2-for-6 with two runs scored, while Rafaela delivered a standout 4-for-5 performance, adding a double, two runs, and an RBI. Alex Bregman chipped in with his 18th home run of the season and two walks, and Nate Eaton contributed two hits, two runs, an RBI, and a stolen base.
On the mound, left-hander Garrett Crochet (17-5) battled through six innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out nine. The victory pushed him to 13-1 over his past 19 starts, leaving him just one win behind MLB leader Max Fried, who recorded his 18th on Thursday.
The Rays didn’t go quietly. Yandy Díaz led the charge with a 3-for-4 night that included a homer, a double, two runs, and an RBI. Rookie Everson Pereira provided late fireworks with a ninth-inning grand slam, while Carson Williams homered for the second straight game.
Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen lasted only three innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He briefly protected an early lead when Díaz scored on a Nick Fortes single in the first, but Boston’s bats quickly answered. Eaton scored from first on Nathaniel Lowe’s single in the second, before Williams homered off Crochet to restore the Rays’ edge.
Bregman answered in the third with a solo shot, though Díaz countered immediately with his 25th homer in the bottom half. The Red Sox finally took control in the seventh when Duran launched a two-run homer off reliever Garrett Cleavinger (1-6).
Boston then broke the game wide open in the eighth, sending 13 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs on just four hits, aided by two costly Rays errors. That outburst gave the visitors an 11-3 cushion before Pereira’s grand slam cut the margin late.
With the win, the Red Sox improved to 84-70 and stretched their dominance over Tampa Bay to 9-2 this season. The Rays slipped to 75-79, their postseason hopes fading further with each loss.
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