Boston Red Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays Match Player Stats On Jul 09, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Jul 9, 2017

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays lost the lead in the seventh inning but rallied and won on Brad Miller's two-run homer in the eighth, beating the Boston Red Sox 5-3 on Sunday at Tropicana Field to take three of four games from the American League East leaders.

Miller hit 30 home runs in a breakout season last year but had only two in 147 at-bats this season until he hit a shot to straightaway center with two outs in the eighth against reliever Joe Kelly.

The Rays (47-43) go into the All-Star game matching a season high at four games above .500, just 3 1/2 games back of the Red Sox (50-39).

Miller's home run came after the Rays had tied the score in the seventh on a sacrifice fly, also against Kelly (3-1), who came in with a 1.04 ERA and a streak of 23 straight scoreless appearances.

Brad Boxberger (1-0) got the win in relief of Rays starter Chris Archer, who dueled with Boston starter David Price. Rays closer Alex Colome pitched a scoreless ninth for his 25th save -- the most in the American League -- and his third in four days.

Dustin Pedroia hit a two-run homer in the seventh off Archer for a 3-2 Red Sox lead, but the Rays again answered in the bottom of the inning.

Mallex Smith got a leadoff walk on four pitches against Matt Barnes, advanced on a sacrifice bunt and took third on a Steven Souza Jr. single off the glove of third baseman Tzu-Wei Lin. Kelly came in and Corey Dickerson hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Smith and tie it at 3.

Boston had two on in the eighth after a pair of two-out walks, but Boxberger struck out Christian Vazquez to end the inning.

Pedroia had gone 161 at-bats without a home run until he had one in Friday's win, and he didn't wait long to do so again. Archer (7-6) had held the Red Sox to one run and had two outs in the seventh, with a full count on Pedroia, who sent the pitch just over the wall in right field.

Price (5-2), facing his former team, held the Rays to five hits in six innings.

Mookie Betts led off the game with a solo home run, his 16th homer of the season, off Archer, setting a Red Sox record with the 11th home run of his career leading off a game.

The Rays answered in the bottom of the first, with Souza hitting a double off the top of the wall and scoring on an RBI single by Evan Longoria.

In the third, Souza walked, advanced on a double by Dickerson and scored on a sacrifice fly by Longoria for a 2-1 lead.

That lead held until the seventh when Archer gave up a bloop single to Lin, then the home run to Pedroia.

The Rays played spectacular defense behind Archer -- Souza made a diving catch of a foul ball in the Rays' bullpen, and Dickerson made a leaping catch against the wall in left field before throwing to double off the runner at first base.

Archer struck out eight batters but came up a pitch short in trying to outduel his close friend and former teammate in Price.

NOTES: The All-Star break is much-needed for the Red Sox, who finished a run of 33 games in 34 days. After the break, they'll play 24 games in 24 days, including a doubleheader against the Yankees on July 16. The Rays, by comparison, have had three off days in the last 18 days. They open the second half with 23 games in 24 days. ... Saturday's 1-0 Rays win was the team's first by that score since August 2015, and the first at home since September 2014. The Rays hadn't won a 1-0 game on a sacrifice fly since 2007 when Josh Wilson did so, also against the Red Sox.