Rays 11, Red Sox 1: First team in MLB with 30 losses

Rays 11, Red Sox 1

The Red Sox became the first team in MLB this year to lose 30 games.

The takeaways:

1. The lineup looks mighty thin without J.D. Martinez

Even though Martinez is really struggling, hitting just .211 with four homers and a .672 OPS, the lineup looks naked without him in there.

Alex Verdugo has been an excellent leadoff hitter, and Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts are as good as it gets behind him, but after that, there isn’t much there.

Christian Vazquez, who has just four homers this year, hit fourth and Kevin Plawecki, who was signed to be the backup catcher, was acting as the designated hitter and batting fifth. Jackie Bradley Jr., Bobby Dalbec, Michael Chavis and Christian Arroyo rounded out the lineup.

The Sox avoided a shutout by plating a run on a few hits in the ninth, but were mostly quiet offensively and are scoring just 4.7 runs per game this year, below league average. It’s an unacceptable mark for a team expected to be carried by its offense, and it’s why the Red Sox can’t even win the games they should win.

If Martinez chooses to opt out after this season, this lineup is really in trouble.

Dalbec was on base three times (single, double and a walk) but didn’t homer, ending his streak at five consecutive games with a home run.

2. The Rays are dominating the Red Sox

It’s been an embarrassing season for the Red Sox against the Rays, who have quietly become the Yankees’ biggest rival in the American League East (the benches cleared between the two teams last week).

With the loss on Friday, the Sox are now 2-6 against the Rays this year. They’re 9-18 against the Rays since the start of 2019, and they’re 3-13 in their last 16 matchups.

Blake Snell made it look easy against the Sox, but anybody who gets on the mound for the Rays lately is making the Sox look bad.

“He’s got nasty stuff,” manager Ron Roenicke said. “You saw us chasing up out of the zone. You saw us chasing down with the breaking ball. I mean, it’s nasty. That’s why this guy is so good.”

The Rays are a young team that’s loaded with pitching, has endless depth and can ask most of their position players to play multiple positions.

The Red Sox have a few pieces that look primed to be their core for a long time, but otherwise have no answers for this team and likely won’t for some time.

“We’re going to have to pitch better, no doubt, but their pitching is outstanding,” Roenicke said. “Their starters are good, their relievers are good, and that puts you in an elite class. That’s why they are where they are, and their position players, they scrap. They don’t give you at-bats. They have all these left-handers in their lineup, and we bring in a lefty against them, and they do a great job of lining it somewhere. They get on base all the time. They steal. They’ve very heads up on the bases.

“So, they do a lot of things to allow them to win games, and if you’re not really good at what you do, you’re not going to win games against them.”

Nathan Eovaldi, the former Ray, will take the ball Saturday night to try to save face at Tropicana Field.

3. Domingo Tapia made an interesting MLB debut

Tapia was once heralded by some as a better prospect than Jacob deGrom while the two were in the Mets system. But that was back in the early parts of the previous decade.

He’s since had Tommy John surgery, was moved to the bullpen and has spent the last 10 years in the minor leagues, throwing 685 innings across 242 games for the Mets, Reds and Red Sox.

But on Friday night, the 29-year-old native of the Dominican Republic finally made his MLB debut.

Tapia’s first MLB pitch was 99 mph right down the middle. His second was a 91-mph changeup that Nate Lowe hammered out of the park for a solo shot.

That was all Tapia gave up as he settled down to finish the inning and pick up his first career strikeout.

With gas like that, he’s an interesting pitcher to watch down the stretch. But he’s always had control issues, with 52 strikeouts and 32 walks in 66 innings with a 5.18 ERA in Pawtucket last year.

There aren’t a lot of reasons left to watch this team, but a 10-year minor league veterans who can throw 100 mph provide something new to pay attention to.

“I thought he threw some good sliders,” Roenicke said. “The fastball velocity is there, but you’re still going to have to locate pitches well. So, it was good to see him get through, after that first batter, to see him get through and get the three outs. That major league debut is always nerve wracking. It’s nice to do it, but it’s also nice to get it done and now try to calm your nerves and make pitches.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3kaOjEi