There was an urgency to Farrell’s frustration – Boston is still 41-35, but since May 26, they’re 12-18 after a 29-17 start.
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Blake Snell didn’t pitch well Monday against the Red Sox but was credited with a win, anyway, yielding four runs over 5 1/3 frames in a 13-7 victory.
By that point, Rodriguez had allowed nine runs on 11 hits and a walk while retiring just eight batters.
Tamp Bay are 0-11 in their last 11 overall and the under is 7-3 in their last 10 on astroturf while going 7-3 in the Rays last 10 home games.
A brutal outing that ended with the Rays teeing off on Rodriguez for 11 hits and nine earned runs, and chasing him from the mound after 2 2/3 innings, resulted in Boston sending its embattled left-hander back to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Tampa Bay slunk deep into last place during the near-two-week-long swoon and now sits 13 games back of the first-place Orioles. Farrell said he told the team it has to play better to pull out of a funk that’s seen the team go 12-18 since May 26. “We need to get better, and we had a chance to share that here after the game tonight”, Farrell said.
There might be a greater immediacy in the Red Sox clubhouse, where a strong start is slipping away as they try to keep close to division-leading Baltimore.
Players such as Travis Shaw and Jackie Bradley Jr. have not been the same, and it has hurt the Red Sox. “To say it’s the start of anything, hopefully it’s the start of us stringing together some wins and playing good baseball”.
Pedroia downplayed the exchange after the 13-7 loss to the Rays.
Bryce Brentz had a two-run double for Boston in the fourth, and the Red Sox loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth.
Evan Longoria, Taylor Motter and Oswaldo Arcia joined Franklin and Forsythe in having three hits each for the Rays. Snell walked David Ortiz, forcing in a run but escaped further damage by striking out Hanley Ramirez.
“In the past 15 games, Boston has been outscored 22-0 in the first inning after outscoring its opponents 60-32 in the previous 61 games”, ESPN explained. Rick Porcello (8-2, 3.93 ERA) and Chris Archer (4-10, 4.70 ERA) will get the nods for their respective teams.
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It was the second inning here Monday night, and another Red Sox starting pitcher was getting lit up. Collectively, the starting rotation in that time is a dismal 5-10 with a 5.39 ERA.
