Plenty of Traffic, But Little to Show For It: Rays 2, Red Sox 4

This was not a well pitched game by either starter, but Ranger Suarez executed some pitches on the paint in key moments to keep runners stranded while Ian Seymour failed to do so. The Rays' bullpen was nearly flawless over the final four innings as Ty Johnson, Casey Legumina , and Alex Cook scattered two singles around six strikeouts, but the Rays offense simply stalled out in key moments all throughout this contest.

Suarez generated just six swings and misses on the evening, but there were three in particular which were rather impressive. The first one came in the second inning when Yandy Diaz had two runners on and could not protect against a well-located cutter high and away that would have clipped the zone had Diaz not swung:

The Rays would go on to strike out six other times in the game, but more importantly, would go on to leave multiple runners on base in the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 9th innings. The 5th inning may have been as the final frame as the Rays would load the bases on three walks, but Jake Fraley would strike out to end the inning. Fraley, rather than Richie Palacios , was brought in for the pinch hitting in that moment. It was surprising given the fact Fraley just returned to the team on Thursday and had two plate appearances against major league pitching since mid-May. Small sample size fun says Fraley is a career .414 hitter with the bgases loaded with two grand slams and 37 RBIs in 36 plate appearances. An even smaller sample size shows that Fraley is now 0-5 with the bases loaded in 2026 with four strikeouts and an infield popout.