Red Sox can't crack Rays in 12th straight loss at the Trop

ST. PETERSBURG -- A couple of hours before his team’s latest attempt to win a baseball game at Tropicana Field, Red Sox manager Alex Cora expressed a sense of urgency.

“We have to find a way to win here, let’s be honest,” said Cora. “I think the last time we won here, I still had a beard. We haven’t won here in a while. There’s been crazy games, close games and all that, but we have to find a way.”

Alas, they did not. The Trop once again was a venue of frustration for the Sox on Wednesday, as they endured a 9-7 defeat to the sizzling Rays, who are 12-0. The 5-7 Sox, meanwhile, have lost 12 in a row in St. Petersburg dating back to April 23 of last season.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the first time the Red Sox have lost as many as 12 consecutive games at one road venue since Aug. 4, 1964 to May 7, 1966 -- a stretch of 17 straight defeats at Metropolitan Stadium against the Twins.

“They’re a really good team. Their pitching staff knows how to work us and how to pitch us and that's something that we need to give him credit for,” said Rafael Devers. “We know that this ballpark is different from other parks, but that’s not an excuse. We just need to keep working and be better.”

It seemed things finally were going to get better when Devers belted a three-run homer to the opposite field in the top of the seventh inning to slim Tampa Bay’s comfortable lead to a run.

But that was as close as the Sox got.

Here were the issues that developed in the latest road defeat to the Rays.

Sale’s struggles

Lefty Chris Sale’s ERA through his first three starts of the season is 11.25. This, after he gave up six runs (five earned), including a three-run homer by Randy Arozarena in the first inning. Sale lasted four innings, throwing 81 pitches (55 for strikes).

“Tough,” Sale said, when asked to assess his outing. “If we had a better starting pitcher, we would have had a better chance to win.”

Sale was asked if he took any positives from the shaky outing.

“My offense,” said Sale.

It is back to the drawing board for Sale, who will pitch next against either the Angels or Twins on the upcoming homestand.

Sloppy defense

This is far from the first time in the past couple of years the Sox have looked unnerved on defense at Tropicana Field. The issues started swiftly on Wednesday. Bobby Dalbec, making his second career start at shortstop, booted a routine grounder by Wander Franco for an error to start Tampa Bay’s three-run rally in the first. And when the Sox thought they were about to catch Franco stealing moments later, Reese McGuire’s throw was off the mark.

Then, another crucial mistake led to the Rays scoring another three runs to increase their lead to 6-1 in the fourth. With first and second and nobody out, Vidal Bruján dropped down a safety squeeze. Sale fielded it and looked to first for the out, but second baseman Yu Chang was slow getting to his assignment to cover the bag and everyone was safe.

“The safety squeeze play, we know with that guy, it’s going to happen,” said Cora. “That’s the part that frustrates me. I guess I have to do a better job coaching them and just be on top of it, because at this level you can’t do that.”

Unsettling injury to Kelly

The most unnerving moment of the night took place in the bottom of the fifth when reliever Zack Kelly fell to the ground in pain after hitting Yandy Díaz with a pitch. Kelly grabbed his elbow and was on the verge of tears as he exited the game.

Kelly was a feel-good story for the Red Sox last season as an undrafted free agent who made his Major League debut at the age of 27. He had right elbow surgery in 2020. For now, the Sox are diagnosing it as right elbow pain. Kelly will be examined by the team’s medical staff in Boston on Friday.

“I was emotional for two reasons,” Kelly said. “One, because I care about this game, these guys, and really I just enjoy doing this. And two, everything I went through to get here is just a lot. So, when something like that happens, I get emotional about it.”