Sox's Betts homers off Moore in Rays lefty's debut

March 7th, 2016

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Mookie Betts went 2-for-3 with a homer over the Green Monster at JetBlue Park for the Red Sox, who fell 3-2, to the Rays in 10 innings on Monday afternoon.
Xander Bogaerts, David Ortiz and Jackie Bradley Jr. each had one hit for the Red Sox before leaving the game.

Southpaw Matt Moore made his first start of Spring Training for Tampa Bay and gave up just the Betts hit over two innings.
"It was all right," said Moore, who missed most of the 2015 season rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. I think I was a little more amped up than I hope to be during the season. But that's expected for the first one, a little extra excitement."
Henry Owens turned in a second straight strong start for Boston, firing three shutout innings (two hits, one walk, one strikeout). The lefty is trying to win a spot in the starting rotation.
"I thought it was good," said Owens. "I thought everything went well. I got some ground balls, teammates made some great plays. I'll come here tomorrow and keep getting ready for the season."
Logan Forsythe had a strong game for the Rays, going 2-for-2 while scoring a run and drawing a walk. Kevin Kiermaier went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Juniel Querecuto singled off the Green Monster to drive in the go-ahead run in the 10th.
Up next for Rays:Erasmo Ramirez will make his second start of the spring as the Rays travel to Lakeland, Fla., to play the Tigers in a 1:05 p.m. ET contest on MLB.TV. Also scheduled to see action are right-handers Matt Andriese, Jacob Faria, Jaime Schultz and Jhan Marinez. Right-hander Shane Greene is scheduled to start for the Tigers.
Up next for Red Sox: Left-hander Roenis Elias, who is trying to win a roster spot as a starter or reliever, makes his Grapefruit League debut in Tuesday's 1:05 p.m. ET road game against the Orioles in Sarasota, Fla., on MLB.TV. Lefty starting prospect Brian Johnson will piggyback Elias. Catcher Christian Vazquez will play his first game since undergoing Tommy John Surgery last year. Outfielders Betts, Bradley, David Murphy and Chris Young will make the trip.