Duran Has Go-Ahead Single In 9th, Red Sox Beat Rays 3-2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jarren Duran had a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth and the COVID-19 impacted Boston Red Sox stopped the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays' nine-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory on Wednesday night.

Boston infielder Yairo Muñoz became the latest Boston player to test positive for the coronavirus. Eight Boston players and two coaches have either had a positive test or are considered close contacts since last Friday.

Rafael Devers opened the ninth with a single off Pete Fairbanks (3-5) , the sixth Rays pitcher, and went to second on Alex Verdugos one-out infield hit. After Christian Vázquez struck out, Duran made it 3-2 on his base-hit to right.

Garrett Whitlock (7-2) went two scoreless innings before Adam Ottavino worked the ninth to get his 11th save.

Rays rookie Wander Franco homered off Chris Sale, extending his on-base streak to 32 games. He is one game away from tying Hall of Famers Mel Ott (1929) and Arky Vaughn (1932) for the third-longest stretch for a player under 21.

Sale made his fourth start since returning from Tommy John surgery, allowing two runs and six hits over a season-high six innings. In addition to inducing three double plays, the lefty struck out three, walked two and hit two batters.

Vázquez homered, drove in two runs and made a nifty defensive play for the Red Sox. Boston started the day one-game up on Oakland in the second AL wildcard race.

Franco's third-inning two-run opposite-field drive to right gave the Rays a 2-1 lead.

Vázquez tied at 2 on his seventh-inning homer off Collin McHugh, who has allowed just two earned runs in his last 38 2/3 innings,
Alex Verdugo tripled when the ball got past a diving Manuel Margot in center in the second and scored on Vázquez's single.

Vázquez made a nice scoop on Devers' thrown and tagged out Joey Wendle as he tried to score on Randy Arozarena's seventh-inning grounder.

Jonathan Araúz threw out Franco when he attempted to score on Margot's grounder in the eighth.

Kyle Schwarber had a two-out single in the fifth but Vázquez was easily thrown out trying to score from second by Arozarena in right.

MOVING DAY

Red Sox: RHP Ryan Brasier (left calf) and OF Danny Santana (left groin) returned from the IL. .... INF Jack López and RHP John Schreiber had their contracts purchased from Triple-A Worcester.

Rays: RHP David Robertson and SS Taylor Walls were recalled from Triple-A Durham. Robertson struck out two during a perfect eighth in his first big league appearance since Apr. 14, 2019.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Red Sox: Manager Alex Cora said SS Xander Bogaerts has no COVID-19 symptoms. He was pulled from Tuesday's game in the second inning.

UP NEXT

Boston LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (10-7) and Rays LHP Shane McClanahan (9-4) are Thursday night's starters.

(© Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.