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Not to be outdone by the disastrous debut of Jameis Winston a few miles away, our Tampa Bay Rays were a disaster of their own, eventually losing in the 13th inning without ever scoring a single run.
The Red Sox and Rays combined for 33(!) strikeouts over 13 fairly uneventful, scoreless innings before Boston finally showed the Will to Win in extras.
It wasn't all negative. Drew Smyly looked fairly terrific out there. Showing plenty of command, Smyly scattered just four hits and two walks over six frames, while striking out eleven. The Red Sox bats were plenty flummoxed, but not near as much as those of the Rays variety were by the opponent's lefty hurler, Rich Hill.
Yes, Rich Hill. The 35 year old journeyman tied the Rays in knots, as he allowed just one hit and one walk with ten strikeouts over seven rather stunning innings. Tim Beckham managed to draw a walk in the second and J.P. Arencibia squeezed out a single in the third, but that was about the extent of it until extras.
Each team used seven pitchers, as the zeros continued to pile up, inning after inning. The Rays bats continued to be silenced by such stalwarts as Jean Machi, Noe Ramirez, Tommy Layne, Alexi Ogando, Heath Hembree and the immortal Robbie Ross Jr.
The Rays bullpen held their own as well, as Steve Geltz, Alex Colome, Brad Boxberger and Brandon Gomes all kept the goose eggs coming. It wasn't until Enny Romero gave up a one-out single to Dustin Pedroia where things began to unravel. After singles by Xander Bogaerts and Travis Shaw to load the bases, Romero was pulled in favor of Andrew Bellatti.
Bellatti wasted no time before giving up a two-RBI single to Rusney Castillo that put the Red Sox up for good. Grady Sizemore would single with two outs in the bottom of the 13th, but the Rays really went down with barely a whimper.
The Rays are now 69-73. The Yankees are in town this week, and Erasmo is on the mound tomorrow. He's got a nice smile and a nice story this year, in case you want to check that out.
I wish I had the energy to go on a Bright House-esque "Fire Derek Shelton" rant, but I just don't have it in me right now. Sometimes you've just got to tip your hat to the greatness that is Rich Hill.
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<th colspan=2>Roll Call Info</th>
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<tr><td width=150>Total comments</td><td>119</tr>
<tr class="alt"><td>Total commenters</td><td>15</tr>
<tr><td>Commenter list</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/DFAHowell">DFAHowell</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Danny%20Russell">Danny Russell</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/EvenLongoria">EvenLongoria</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/JRTW612">JRTW612</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Jeremy%20Powers">Jeremy Powers</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Mister%20Lizzie">Mister Lizzie</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Rays1118">Rays1118</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/RazeTheRoof">RazeTheRoof</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/kapaafire">kapaafire</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/kfharlock">kfharlock</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/nomo.red.evil">nomo.red.evil</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/tampa_edski">tampa_edski</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/the%20dobber">the dobber</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/thedudeofdudes">thedudeofdudes</a>, <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/turntwo21">turntwo21</a></tr>
<tr class="alt"><td>Story URLs</td><td><div><a href="http://www.draysbay.com/2015/9/13/9302793/gdt-the-last-game-of-the-series-against-the-red-sox">http://www.draysbay.com/2015/9/13/9302793/gdt-the-last-game-of-the-series-against-the-red-sox</a></div>
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<th width=60># Recs</th><th>Commenter</th><th>Comment Link</th>
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<td>2</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/DFAHowell">DFAHowell</a></td><td><a href="http://www.draysbay.com/2015/9/13/9302793/gdt-the-last-game-of-the-series-against-the-red-sox#326770338">Extra-innings loss champions!</a></td>
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<td>1</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Rays1118">Rays1118</a></td><td><a href="http://www.draysbay.com/2015/9/13/9302793/gdt-the-last-game-of-the-series-against-the-red-sox#326760388">God damnit. James lonely is the biggest bucket of shit ever.</a></td>
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<td>1</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/nomo.red.evil">nomo.red.evil</a></td><td><a href="http://www.draysbay.com/2015/9/13/9302793/gdt-the-last-game-of-the-series-against-the-red-sox#326749914">why would you expect the Pirates to be televised in the Tampa Bay market?</a></td>
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<td>1</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Mister%20Lizzie">Mister Lizzie</a></td><td><a href="http://www.draysbay.com/2015/9/13/9302793/gdt-the-last-game-of-the-series-against-the-red-sox#326719706">imagine the false sense of confidence he takes from this</a></td>
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<td>1</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/JRTW612">JRTW612</a></td><td><a href="http://www.draysbay.com/2015/9/13/9302793/gdt-the-last-game-of-the-series-against-the-red-sox#326698656">If only they were facing Chris Sale</a></td>
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<td>1</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/thedudeofdudes">thedudeofdudes</a></td><td><a href="http://www.draysbay.com/2015/9/13/9302793/gdt-the-last-game-of-the-series-against-the-red-sox#326718814">Screw it, let's go 15+ innings of scoreless!</a></td>
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<td>1</td><td><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Jeremy%20Powers">Jeremy Powers</a></td><td><a href="http://www.draysbay.com/2015/9/13/9302793/gdt-the-last-game-of-the-series-against-the-red-sox#326687532">Smyly</a></td>
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