Mayer toys with toe-tap adjustment, ends HR drought for sputtering Sox offense

ST. PETERSBURG – A game-tying solo homer by the slumping Marcelo Mayer in the third inning offered hope that Monday could be a night for the Red Sox to put some runs on the board and take the opener of a three-game series at Tropicana Field against the Rays.

However, the offense couldn’t do much else against opener Ian Seymour (four strong innings) or Tampa Bay’s bullpen, and the Sox endured a tight 3-1 defeat that dropped them back to 10 games below .500 (27-37).

It was another tough night in the short term for a team that has struggled to gain any footing.

But if Mayer can get it going on offense, that could be significant in the big picture for a team that is searching for all the production it can get.

The shortstop, trying to live up to the promise the Red Sox saw when making him the fourth pick in the 2021 Draft, came into the night sputtering with a batting line of .167/.215/.208 in his previous 20 games and 79 plate appearances dating back to May 7, getting just one extra-base hit over that span.

During a rain delay before Saturday night’s eventual postponement at Yankee Stadium, Mayer might have found something.

“I’ve just been feeling really disconnected with my legs,” Mayer said. “So I implemented a toe tap or whatever you want to call it two days ago, and it's been feeling really good ever since. I actually started it as a drill during the rain delay, and it felt really good. So, they were like, ‘Yo, just try it on.’ I was like, ‘All right.’”

To open the third, he jumped on a 2-1 sweeper from Seymour and drilled it at an exit velocity of 103.3 mph and a Statcast-projected 401 feet to right-center field for his third homer of the season and first since May 15.

“I’ve just been working on trying to hit the ball harder, so it definitely felt good,” Mayer said. “Yeah, I’ve just got to keep working at it, got to keep grinding, swinging at the right pitches.”

The night was not as satisfactory for Connelly Early. The rookie lefty, who has been mostly solid this season, labored for his second straight turn.

Early’s first pitch was belted into the seats in left by Yandy Díaz. It was the seventh homer Early has allowed in his last five starts.

“Obviously, sold out to the fastball on the [inner] rail there,” said Early. “It was an executed pitch, so tip your cap. Good swing.”

The biggest issue Early had was not a solo homer by one of the most underrated hitters in the game. Early was frustrated by his lack of command, which led to him throwing 96 pitches over 4 2/3 innings, in which he allowed five hits, two runs and four walks while punching out six.

“I didn’t do a good enough job” said Early. “I was spraying the ball too much.”

Still, he kept his team right in the game, leaving in a 2-1 hole.

“When you mix walks with deep counts, it's not a good combination,” said Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez. “But knowing he wasn’t at his best, and he still competed, that says a lot about him. To be able to keep the game 1-1 until that last pitch, it was really good competition for him.”

Two starts ago, Early fired seven shutout innings against the Braves. But over his last two outings, he’s suffered some rookie growing pains, accumulating 10 innings while allowing six runs.

“Today, I wanted to bounce back from the last one, so it’s tough to only get through 4 2/3,” said Early.

While the road had offered the Red Sox a chance to take back a glimmer of momentum over the last few weeks, that hasn’t been the case so far on this trip to face the top two teams in the American League East. Boston had dropped two of the three games on what has become an abbreviated five-game journey with Saturday’s game in the Bronx getting postponed.

“We just didn’t hit much,” said Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy. “We took some scattered good at-bats throughout, during the game, but just didn't create a lot of opportunities for ourselves.”