, who posted their eighth consecutive victory in Fenway. Tampa Bay won for the 12th time in its last 14 games against Boston.Brandon Lowe added a solo homer during a five-run third inning that chased starter Kyle Hart (0-1), who was making his major-league debut.Manuel Margot had his second four-hit game of the series, Willy Adames had three hits and two RBIs, and Yoshi Tsutsugo had two hits and two RBIs for the Rays, who posted season-highs in runs and hits (19). Zunino drove in four runs.''The whole series, the guys were tremendous,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. ''That's not an easy thing to do, to sweep a team like the Red Sox.'' Kevin Plawecki had a two-run double and three RBIs for Boston, and Rafael Devers made three throwing errors after a first-inning RBI single. The Red Sox (6-13), who own the AL's worst record, have lost four straight.Even a ''drone delay'' in the third, didn't stop the Rays' offense. The game was delayed for about four minutes by a drone flying outside the park beyond the right-field bleachers.''That's a new situation,'' Adames said. ''I've never seen that before. You just don't know what to do.'' With Tsutsugo at the plate, players on the field and the umpires pointed to where it was. The Rays' two runners on base left the field and Boston's fielders headed to their dugout area, too. The umpires walked off, waiting on the track near Boston's dugout.''I didn't even know the rule,'' Cash said. ''The Red Sox certainly did. They walked off the field. I heard it was a kid. I hope he didn't get in too much trouble.'' When play resumed, Tsutsugo, the last batter Hart faced, lined an RBI single to right.Hart gave up seven runs - five earned - in two-plus innings. Rays starter Tyler Glasnow went four innings, giving up five runs on eight hits, striking out eight and walking two.''Mentally it was a little bit of a draining day,'' Hart said. ''Obviously the results not even close to what I envisioned.'' Jalen Beeks (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings in relief and was credited with the win. Anthony Banda pitched three innings for his first career save.Leading 10-5, Tampa Bay broke it open with a six-run sixth, scoring all the runs off Marcus Walden, who didn't get an out. Renfroe homered over the Monster and five batters later Zunino sent his shot out of Fenway.CRAZY MOP-UP MOVESInfielder Jose Peraza pitched the ninth for Boston, but had to leave after getting hit on the leg by Lowe's hard grounder.Plawecki then moved from catcher to pitcher, getting the final two outs, and Tzu-Wei Lin took over behind the plate. It was Lin's first-ever time catching professionally.''Once Peraza got smoked in the knee, that's about as bad as it gets. We're trying to get through a game and he gets smoked,'' Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke said. ''He's OK. We X-rayed it and he actually got hit in a good spot on the knee, but I still feel bad about it.'' EIGHT IS MORE THAN ENOUGHThe Rays scored at least eight runs in every game of the series. Getting eight in the first two and nine on Wednesday.They came into the series ranked near the bottom of the AL in total runs before the outburst.Not bad for a team that entered the series winless on the road.''I told you all we'd be fine two weeks ago,'' Renfroe said. ''You were worried about the offense.'' TAKE THATHart struck out Renfroe swinging on a slider in the first inning for his first big-league K. In his next at-bat against the 27-year-old lefty, Renfroe sent a shot into the Red Sox bullpen.TRAINER'S ROOMRays: Brent Honeywell Jr., one of the organization's top pitching prospects threw live BP two days ago. He underwent a decompression procedure on his right ulnar nerve on May 20 and hadn't thrown to hitters since April of 2019.Red Sox: SS Xander Bogaerts had the day off. Roenicke said: ''He's got some stuff going on in his lower half, some fatigue there.'' He expects him back in the lineup Friday against the Yankees.UP NEXTRays: TBD Friday night at the Toronto Blue Jays in their 2020 alternate home in Buffalo, New York, after the Canadian government wouldn't allow them to play in the country due to the coronavirus.Red Sox: Roenicke said it'll be a ''bullpen game'' in the opener of a four-game series against the Yankees in New York on Friday.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Red Sox's Hart set for debut against red-hot RaysRed Sox's Hart set for debut against red-hot RaysWhen Boston Red Sox left-hander Kyle Hart learned he would be called on to make his major league debut against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon, the message came in a highly peculiar manner.The 27-year-old pitcher was summoned into the manager's office in Pawtucket, R. I., on Tuesday, and Red Sox vice president of player development Ben Crockett was one of four people in the room.Hart thought the meeting would result in his promotion to the majors, but the tone took a turn for the worse."They told me that I was actually getting fined by Major League Baseball for not wearing my mask," Hart said during a video call with reporters. "That's kind of a real scenario that is going to happen and probably has happened. I was a little worried at first, but then they told me, 'You can pay your fine at Fenway Park tomorrow.' Luckily, it was just a prank and they were pulling my leg." Hart now strives to pitch as well as the quality of the prank when he tackles a Tampa Bay squad that has won the first three contests of the four-game series and has recorded five straight wins overall.Hart was a 19th-round selection in the 2016 draft and has gone 25-29 with a 3.13 ERA in 77 appearances (71 starts) in the minors.Hart isn't a flamethrower but has flashed the ability to record outs and that has impressed Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush."I don't expect any particularly big changes with him, but as he's done the last couple years, he's just getting incrementally better at each of those small things to allow him to be successful at each step along the way," Bush said. "No magic answers, no big changes. His command is going to be critical. It always is for him."The stuff is not going to light up a radar gun, but he's got multiple pitches (and) commands the ball to both sides of the plate." Boston will be hoping for a solid outing from Hart after Tampa Bay piled up 25 runs and 40 hits over the first three games.The Red Sox have dropped seven straight home games against the Rays and 12 of the past 13.Tampa Bay slugged four homers in Wednesday's 9-5 victory. Brandon Lowe and Yoshi Tsutsugo slugged two-run homers and Willy Adames and Austin Meadows hit solo blasts.Lowe went 3-for-5 with three runs, Yandy Diaz went 3-for-5 with one RBI, and Kevin Kiermaier went 3-for-4 to fuel the Rays' 15-hit attack.Lowe improved his career average in Fenway Park to .444 in 27 at-bats, while the homer was his third. Meadows is 12-for-39 (.308) with three homers at Fenway."They enjoy it the most," Adames said of Meadows and Lowe playing in Fenway. "They always rake, and it's fun to watch." Also finding Wednesday's offensive production enjoyable was Rays manager Kevin Cash."We had tremendous at-bats early on," Cash said. "We got runs, and the most impressive thing is we continued to add throughout the (middle) innings, and that helped us." Hoping the series-long run support continues is right-hander Tyler Glasnow (0-1, 5.56 ERA), who will be on the mound for Tampa Bay in the finale.Glasnow lasted just 2 2/3 innings while losing to the New York Yankees last Saturday. He gave up four runs, five hits, three walks and struck out five.Glasnow, who turns 27 on Aug. 23, is 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA in four career outings (all starts) versus the Red Sox. Michael Chavis, J. D. Martinez and Mitch Moreland have hit homers off Glasnow.Martinez hit a grand slam in Boston's Wednesday loss, his second homer of the season.--Field Level Media
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