September 19 – Jarren Duran scored in the bottom of the eighth inning, helping the Boston Red Sox beat the Rays, 2–1, to open a three-game series with Tampa Bay on Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Trevor Story (2-for-3, homer, two runs) struck out Drew Rasmussen (0-2) to start the eighth inning, with the Boston shortstop taking second and third. With one out, Duran hit the game-winning hit to right field to help the Red Sox (76-76) win the game.
Boston starter Tanner Houck allowed one run and four hits in four innings. He struck out four without issuing a walk.
Justin Slaton (6-2) pitched out of trouble in the seventh. Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen recorded his 27th save with a double in the ninth.
Josh Lowe (double, run), Johnny Deluca (hit by pitching) and Tyler Walls (RBI, walk, stolen base) each had a hit for Tampa Bay (74-78).
Rays starter Ryan Pepiot dominated Boston through six innings, allowing only one run on two hits and no walks while striking out a career-high 12 batters. In the fifth inning, he pitched the fourth perfect inning in Rays history (striking out all three batters on a total of nine pitches).
One night, the Rays won 8-3 with a season-high four deep drives, tacking on a run in the second inning. Lowe doubled and DeLuca was hit by a pitch. After the strikeout, Taylor Walls singled to give Lowe a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, Pepiot took down the Red Sox lineup, leaving Connor Wong looking furious while Wilier Abreu and Tristan Casa (Tristan Casa) were faltering.
The Rays first-year pitcher struck out 15 of Boston’s first 16 batters — 10 strikeouts and nine swings.
Although Story was ready in the sixth inning, he hit a first-pitch 93 mph fastball to left-center for his second home run of the year, a home run.
Rays left fielder Christopher Morel, not known for his defense, stopped two runs in the seventh inning when he made a leaping single over the fence pad on a breakaway by Casas. In this inning, both runners were on base.
–Visual-level media
