Despite season-high skid, Rays believe they'll 'get back on track'

BOSTON -- When the Rays took a two-run lead against the red-hot Red Sox on a smoky, soggy Saturday evening at Fenway Park, manager Kevin Cash sensed the opportunity and moved to seize it.

Yes, it was just the fourth inning. And sure, starter Ian Seymour had only thrown 61 pitches. But with Seymour’s effectiveness wavering and a lead to protect, Cash called upon right-hander Kevin Kelly and let the club’s top setup man keep Boston’s lineup in check for two innings.

“Felt like we needed to do everything we could to win the game,” Cash said afterward.

But there was still too much game left to contain the streaking Sox. Three relievers combined to allow four runs in the seventh inning, and the Rays were dealt a 7-6 loss, their season-high-tying fourth straight defeat and their eighth in the last 12 games.

It was a similar story to the second half of Friday’s doubleheader sweep, when the Rays managed to gain a lead but simply couldn’t shut down the hottest team in baseball.

“Not ideal. But I think this group's resilient, and we've shown it all year that we can come in and get outs and win ballgames,” said left-hander Garrett Cleavinger. “I think we'll get back on track.”

Cleavinger gave up the go-ahead home run to Wilyer Abreu in the seventh, but he was not solely responsible for the way the four-run inning unfolded.

It began with Andruw Monasterio hitting a leadoff double to left off right-hander Casey Legumina, who then gave way to righty Cole Sulser with the Rays ahead, 6-3. Sulser induced a chopper from Jarren Duran, but the play left first baseman Ryan Vilade in an awkward spot. His momentum was taking him backward, away from first base, and his high toss to Sulser gave Duran time to beat the throw to the bag.

“Just got to be better,” Vilade said. “Can't give them free outs and need to make a better throw.”

Sulser retired the next two batters, giving up one run in the process, but the last out proved to be elusive. Ceddanne Rafaela smashed an RBI double off the Green Monster, making it a one-run game, then Cash brought in the lefty Cleavinger to face Abreu, who homered twice Friday night and took Seymour deep in the third inning Saturday.

Cleavinger immediately fell behind Abreu by throwing three straight balls, then he threw three straight fastballs. Cleavinger said that was a combination of trusting Tampa Bay’s scouting report and wanting to get back in the count, but acknowledged, “It would have been nice to maintain a little more unpredictability.”

Abreu took the first two fastballs for called strikes and sent the third one just over the Red Sox's bullpen in right-center field for a two-run homer, his fourth home run in less than 24 hours.

“Didn't do a great job executing, and he's a really good hitter,” Cleavinger said. “They're really hot right now, so you fall behind and it makes it real tough on yourself.”

It was the second time the Rays lost a lead on Saturday. They scored twice in the second inning, only for Seymour to give up a game-tying homer to Jahmai Jones. That came immediately after Monasterio worked a two-out, 10-pitch walk despite starting behind in the count, 0-2.

Seymour fell behind Abreu in the third, and he blasted a 2-1 fastball out to center field.

“Just wasn't executing once I was ahead. Let them back into some counts, and then they made me pay,” Seymour said. “After a doubleheader, you've got to induce early contact. I put us in a hole and didn't really give us a good chance to win this game, especially with the offense performing the way they did.”

Indeed, offense was not the issue this time. Chandler Simpson used his bat and legs to create a run in the fourth, then Victor Mesa Jr. homered before Richie Palacios doubled and scored on a single by Yandy Díaz. Jonny DeLuca smashed a homer off reliever Ryan Watson in the seventh to make it a three-run game.

“We did some good things offensively. That was encouraging,” Cash said. “Hopefully, we can build off that.”

They even made it interesting in the ninth against All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman. With two outs, Palacios and Díaz walked, and pinch-runners Taylor Walls and Cedric Mullins ran their way into scoring position. But Chapman recovered, getting DeLuca to ground out to seal Boston’s 12th straight win.

“They're obviously on a heater right now, so I feel like everything's going their way,” DeLuca said. “Then obviously [there's] some things we need to fix and work on. But that's the game. … We're in good spirits. We feel good.”