Rays 4, Red Sox 3: Longoria fuels WALKOFF win in extras

Innings 1-6: Andriese solid. Miller comes through. Boston led 3-2.

Andriese put up an great outing after two sub par outings where he gave up five plus runs. Six solid innings allowing three runs against the Red Sox offense is something I would have taken coming into the game.

Dustin Pedroia started off with an opposite field single. Xander Bogaerts struck out swinging while Pedroia stole second base. The call was challenged by the Rays. It looks like the tag grazed him. I prefer if the call stands if there isn’t 100% proof to overturn, but that hasn’t been the standard we’ve seen used. David Ortiz mashed a homer on first pitch to put the Red Sox up 2-0.

The Rays went down in order in the first and the Red Sox followed in the second. Matt Duffy put the first hit on the board with a one out single. Logan Morrison followed with an impressive opposite field double that almost made it to Ducky’s Landing to put runners on second and third with one out. Steven Souza, Jr. struck out and Corey Dickerson grounded out to first to end the threat.

The Red Sox struck again in the third as Pedroia walked and stole second base for the second time in the game. Mookie Betts singled home Pedroia, but was caught between first and second to put the Red Sox up 3-0.

The Rays answered in the bottom of the third as Bobby Wilson led off with a single. Kevin Kiermaier singled to put two runners on with one out. After Evan Longoria went down swinging Brad Miller scorched a double down the first base line to put two on the board for the Rays.

In the bottom of the fourth the Rays threatened again as Logan Morrison singled to lead off the inning. Bobby Wilson doubled down the left field line to put two runners in scoring position with two outs. Logan Forsythe grounded out to third baseman Brock Holt on a ball that looked like it had a chance to get through.

In the top of the sixth Ortiz led off with a single up the middle. Sandy Leon followed with a two out double down the left field line. The ball had strong spin that forced Dickerson to chase into the corner. Luckily for the Rays Ortiz was the runner at first and the runners only ended up at second and third. Andriese struck out Holt to end the threat.

Overall it was a solid outing for Matt Andriese. He scattered seven hits and one walk over six innings while striking out eight. The only major damage was from the two run homer by Ortiz. I will take that from your number five every time, especially against the Boston offense.

Inning 7: Erasmo creates trouble, but gets out of it. Red Sox 3-2.

Travis Shaw started off the frame with a single that Matt Duffy almost made a great play on, but couldn’t get the ball to first in time. Andrew Benintendi followed with a double down the left field line to put runners on second and third with no outs. Erasmo Ramirez got help from his fielders and some help from the Boston base runners. Pedroia grounded to Duffy and he tagged Benintendi who was headed towards third, but Shaw wasn’t going. Duffy was able to make the throw to first to get the double play. Bogaerts grounded out to end the threat and leave the game tied at three.

Inning 8: Evan Longoria launches to tie the game. Tie 3-3.

Erasmo Ramirez and Enny Romero combined to provide a clean inning for the Rays.

Evan Longoria came up with a 1-1 hanging curve ball that he sent 440 feet to left center field to tie the game. This season has been a disappointment as far as record is concerned, but it has been a joy to watch Longoria do what he’s done. It would be great for the Rays and their fans if he is able to continue this for a few more years.

NSFW Warning: Porcello lets out a very audible F-bomb.

Brad Miller followed with a deep fly ball to the warning track. Matt Duffy singled up the middle and ended the night of Boston starter Rick Porcello. Robbie Ross, Jr. issued a walk to Morrison. Another pitching change was made as the Red Sox called on Porcello against Souza. Souza hit a weak grounder that loaded the bases, but was unable to make it through the infield to score the go ahead run.

The game came down to Corey Dickerson versus Brad Ziegler. Ziegler struck out Dickerson out swinging. The Rays had new life and looked to walk off.

Inning 9: Colome and Kimbrel come in to get two outs. Game tied 3-3.

Xavier Cedeno came into the game to try to give the Rays a chance for the win. Cedeno induced a deep line drive that was caught by Dickerson near the track. Showing the Rays are serious they send Alex Colome to the mound to preserve the tie game after Aaron Hill was announced as a pinch hitter. Colome struck out Hill for the second out. Travis Shaw hit a weak fly ball to Souza to keep the game tied up.

The Rays sent out Bobby Wilson, Logan Forsythe, and Kevin Kiermaier looking for their first walkoff homer since Sean Rodriguez on May 22, 2014 against the Athletics.

Wilson sent a grounder to center field to put the lead off hitter on base for the Rays. Mikie Mahtook came in as a pinch runner. Forsythe worked a long at bat that ended with a weak grounder to the first baseman that moved Mahtook up to second with one out.

The Red Sox called in their closer Craig Kimbrel to quash the uprising. Kiermaier got caught looking for strike three with a full count for out number two. Longoria worked another full count, but was caught looking at a fastball on the outside part of the plate.

Inning 10: Colome locks down the Red Sox. Game tied 3-3.

Colome came out for more work and put the Sox down in order. Chris Young struck out swinging before Pedroia and Bogaerts flew out.

Heath Hembree entered for Boston. Miller smashed a one hopper to the first baseman. Miller attempted to slide head first into first base, but was just a hair behind the pitcher touching first. Duffy and Morrison send medium depth fly balls to the outfield.

Inning 11: Rays win! Red Sox error walks off the game. Rays win 4-3.

Brad Boxberger entered the game to keep the game tied. Boxberger struck out Ortiz for the first out. Betts followed with a walk. Betts stole second as Bradley, Jr. flails at strike three for his fourth strikeout of the game. Boxberger ended the threat by striking out Sandy Leon.

Souza started the bottom of the eleventh by smoking a liner to dead center field. Unfortunately Bradley was there to make the catch. Dickerson followed with a weak fly out to left field. Luke Maile stepped to bat for the first time in the game and lined a double down the right field line. Forsythe earned a walk to give Kiermaier the opportunity to end it. Kiermaier forces an error on the grounder to first with the pitcher covering first. Maile slogs around third and scores when the ball is dropped by Leon.

Final Thoughts:

Matt Andriese did what you want out of your number five. Very solid start against a tough offense.

Evan Longoria has been a beast. After his homer in the bottom of the eighth the Rays twitter posted this:

The slugging didn’t really surprise me, but the on base percentage sure as hell did. Coming into the game since May 28th Longoria has batted .314/.364/.611 and put up a 159 wRC+. That’s an amazing three month stretch.

The last walk off for the Rays was a walk off walk by Logan Morrison against Seattle on June 15. Lets not go through what followed as the 11 game loss streak and losing 3 of 24 directly followed.

Great team victory. Great to beat the Red Sox any time you can.