ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays had their chances Wednesday night.

They had 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position and walked away without a hit in any of them. They put a runner on second base with nobody out in five different innings and didn’t score in any of them. They hit into three double plays, tying a season high, in the first four innings alone. They had a runner at third base with one out in back-to-back innings, only to have the potential go-ahead run cut down at the plate twice.

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In the end, the Majors’ highest-scoring lineup finally had an off night. Unable to capitalize on all their scoring opportunities, the Rays were limited to only a two-run homer by Wander Franco off Chris Sale and lost, 3-2, to the Red Sox at Tropicana Field.

“Days like this are going to happen from time to time,” third baseman Joey Wendle said. “You can't go 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position and expect to win, so yeah, they just beat us today. They just pitched better. They got us out when they needed to.”

The Rays haven’t experienced many games like this one lately. The defeat ended their nine-game winning streak, tied for the third-longest in club history, and was only their second loss in the last 15 games. But with the cushion they’ve built, they still have a seven-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East and a six-game advantage over the Astros for the AL’s best record.

“That doesn't make today's game any less frustrating. We want to win every game in equal amount,” Wendle said. “Just didn't fall our way, and we’ve got to be better tomorrow, for sure.”

For much of the night, it looked like the Rays might overcome their offensive issues to win their 10th straight. Right-hander Drew Rasmussen put together another solid but shortened start, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out five. Rasmussen threw a season-high 74 pitches, but he exited after recording 12 outs, as the Rays continue to monitor his workload carefully in his transition from reliever to starter.

And Franco’s third-inning homer gave the Rays both a lead and a jolt of energy. Batting right-handed against Sale, Franco clubbed a fastball up and away to right field for his first opposite-field homer in the Majors, extending his on-base streak to 32 games in the process. The go-ahead shot even drew praise from Sale, who tipped his proverbial cap to the Rays’ 20-year-old rookie shortstop.

“That’s not a home run pitch. He’s not supposed to hit that ball out. That was me vs. him, and he won,” Sale said. “Not too many guys can get to that. Not many guys can, A, get to it and, B, hit it out.”

That was the entirety of the Rays’ run production on the night, however. They had runners on the corners in the first inning, only for Yandy Díaz to ground into an inning-ending double play. They had runners at first and second with one out in the second inning, then Wendle hit into a double play. Manuel Margot ran into an out trying to steal third base in the fourth, then another first-and-second situation went to waste as Sale forced Wendle to hit into another double play.

“That’s what happens when you’re facing a guy like Chris Sale. He looked really good,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He’s shown throughout his career, he’s got a knack for making the big pitch with guys on base, and he did that tonight.”

Still, the Rays carried the lead Franco gave them into the seventh. But the Red Sox tied it up when Christian Vázquez launched a first-pitch curveball from Collin McHugh out to left field for his sixth home run of the season.

The Rays had a chance to score in each of the next two innings, getting Wendle to third base with one out in the seventh and Franco to third with one out in the eighth. Both times, Tampa Bay attempted to execute contact plays to get the runner home; both times, on grounders hit directly at infielders by Randy Arozarena and Margot, they were tagged out at the plate.

“We’re going to try to, more times than not, put pressure on the defense with the speed of Wendle and Wander right there,” Cash said. “We’re betting, if you get a good jump, it’s going to be a really close play. The defense has to do everything perfectly, and ultimately they did.”

The Rays’ 11 at-bats without a hit with runners in scoring position were their most since Sept. 16, 2020, when they also went 0-for-11 against the Nationals. Wednesday was just the third time in the last 25 games that they scored fewer than four runs; by comparison, they scored more than eight runs in 14 of those games.

But that left the door open for the Red Sox, who pulled ahead in the ninth against reliever Pete Fairbanks. Rafael Devers hit a leadoff single to right and moved to second when Alex Verdugo turned a high chopper into an infield single. After striking out Vázquez, Fairbanks gave up a hard grounder to Jarren Duran that rolled into right field as the go-ahead single.

“Anytime the ball stays on the ground and you give up a run, it's frustrating. But that is part of it,” Fairbanks said. “More times than not, those balls are going to be hit at somebody and you throw it to first and you have a nine-pitch inning.”