He surrendered a two-run homer to Logan Forsythe on a 73-mph hanging knuckler in the second, and a solo shot to Logan Morrison in the fourth inning on a 69-mph pitch that looked identical.
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Rays: Tampa Bay enjoyed a second straight game without a player on the DL.
ASTROS 4, ATHLETICS 3 (at Houston) – Evan Gattis hit an RBI single to cap a three-run rally in the eighth inning keyed by a wild pitch on a strikeout, leading Houston. Tazawa then yielded a two-run single to Logan Forsythe to tie the game before Tazawa closed out of inning by retiring Kevin Kiermaier.
“We just got beat tonight”, said Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash, whose team is 55-75, 6-8 against the Red Sox. Hanley Ramirez had a solo home run for the Sox in the loss.
The biggest mistake: Kiermaier or Beckham?
As far as the game, Cash said, “Difficult loss”. It’s big in part because Steven Wright has to show he’s not the guy who showed up in the first inning in his return to the mound, but the one who shut down the Royals afterward. But he is 4-0 with a 2.82 ERA in his last seven, lowering his season ERA from 5.64 to 4.80, and going at least six innings in all seven starts.
Odorizzi got the first out in the fifth before Ramirez hit a fly ball down the right-field line that squeezed around the fabled Pesky Pole for his 18th homer of the season.
Rick Porcello pitched seven solid innings to become the majors’ first 18-game victor and the first Boston pitcher in 70 years to open a season 13-0 in Fenway Park. “My pitch count was up, so in my head I was just thinking attack, go right at them and see how long you can last”. Sox 5-3. That would be all the runs Porcello would allow and the Sox offense was not even close to being done. Justin Upton also went deep for the Tigers, who pulled within a game of Baltimore for the American League’s second wild card. I threw it and left it over the middle. One out later, Brad Miller hit a shot off the glove of Pedroia for an RBI single.Pomeranz settled down and the Red Sox were doing nothing against Odorizzi, who faced the minimum 12 batters through four innings.
Pedroia has 15 hits in his last 20 at-bats and is batting.463 since moving into the leadoff spot on August 10. He is 23-for-63 (.365) with five homers and 22 RBIs in his last 17 games.
Craig Kimbrel pitched a flawless ninth for the save. It ended with Aaron Hill hitting an RBI single to the opposite field and Jackie Bradley Jr. knocking his third hit of the game, an RBI double to pad the lead.
The Boston Red Sox to string wins together to challenge for the postseason or they could be in trouble.
“It was fair to say that the first inning or two. he was trying to establish a release point after some down time”, manager John Farrell said before Tuesday night’s game. The Sox get one more chance at the Rays in a getaway matinee at the Fens this afternoon but while the win is critical, this brief six-game homestand will still have to be called a disappointment as the Sox can do no better than finish it at 3-3 before they head out on yet another west coast road trip.
Rays: Manager Kevin Cash has made a decision to go with six starters when RHP Aex Cobb returns to the rotation this weekend against Toronto after being sidelined since Tommy John surgery in May 2015.
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Red Sox: Off Thursday, at Oakland on Friday with David Price (13-9) against Andrew Triggs (1-1).
