ST. PETERSBURG — Ian Seymour and five relievers combined to allow four hits and one walk while striking out 10 as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 3-1 at Tropicana Field, snapping a stretch in which the club had won just four of its previous 14 games.
The bullpen game came together after veteran left-hander Steven Matz moved to the bullpen Saturday, leaving the Rays to piece together a pitching plan. Manager Kevin Cash kept right-hander Mason Englert on the roster in a bulk-inning role, but the relief corps handled the assignment on just 118 pitches. The unit entered the game carrying a 4.61 ERA on the season.
“That was awesome. Top to bottom, all the boys did a great job,” left-hander Garrett Cleavinger said. “Kind of a prototypical Rays bullpen win right there.”
Seymour, a starting pitching prospect in the minors who has settled into a relief role this year, covered four innings on 55 pitches, surrendering just one hit — a leadoff homer to Boston’s Marcelo Mayer in the third — and one walk. “I’d say of all of the things I’ve done, I’m most comfortable doing that,” Seymour said of starting. “I’m happy to pitch in whatever situation they want me to, like always.”
Yandy Díaz gave Tampa Bay an immediate lead by smashing his fourth leadoff home run of the season on Red Sox starter Connelly Early’s first pitch. After Mayer’s homer tied it, the Rays pulled ahead in the fifth when new addition Austin Slater reached on an infield single, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a two-out single by Jonathan Aranda. Aranda’s 45th RBI of the season snapped a 2-for-24 slump. “I know it’s not coming easy for him right now — it will here soon — but right now he’s just grinding through at-bats,” Cash said of Aranda. “And he’s finding ways to help us.”
Right-hander Casey Legumina retired all four batters he faced, extending an impressive run since arriving in a late-April trade with the Mariners that has produced a 2.08 ERA in 13 appearances. Lefty Cam Booser picked up the next three outs, adding to a strong stretch since a promotion from Triple-A Durham — two hits and a walk allowed with five strikeouts over four innings across three outings. Kevin Kelly escaped a seventh-inning jam when Junior Caminero fielded a grounder from Isiah Kiner-Falefa with two runners in scoring position.
Cleavinger handled the eighth, and after Díaz added a sacrifice fly for insurance, de facto closer Bryan Baker recorded his 17th save to seal the win. “Anytime he comes in that type of situation, I have 100% confidence in him,” Díaz said of Baker through interpreter Kevin Vera. “He’s just been that guy for us.”
“It just shows that from top to bottom, when everyone’s rolling, we kind of create matchup nightmares for anybody on the other side,” Cleavinger said. “We’ve got a lot of different angles, a lot of different stuff coming out, which is awesome.” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy acknowledged the difficulty his lineup faced. “You’re just hoping you can create something and maybe load the bases or something, put them in a spot where the matchup lane doesn’t work for them after that,” Tracy said. “Just weren’t able to do it.”
The Rays continue the series against Boston at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night.