4 takeaways as the Red Sox score 20 explosively against the Rays

The Rays eventually resorted to wide receiver Francisco Mejia on the mound. Mejia allowed six points as the Red Sox crossed the 20-point threshold in the eighth.

The Red Sox weren’t quite ready to let the fans go comfortably – Phillips Valdez allowed five hits and seven runs in the top of the ninth. It turned out that 20 runs were just enough to feel comfortable.

Game star

Hunter Renfroe – 3-for-5, three run, four RBI, two doubles

Any of the many offensive players would do here, but Renfroe gets the nod for going on the offensive.

What this means

Who can say? The Red Sox have given fans plenty of reason to be concerned, but the concern is magnified by all the reasons for the confidence they provided at the start of the year that this team can withstand adversity. .

They are now four games behind the Rays in the standings and two games ahead of the Yankees.

Take away food

1. The post-game press conference vibe after Valdez worked in the ninth inning wasn’t as festive as one might have thought one night when the Red Sox appeared to be righting the ship.

“In the end, it was really unfortunate for Valdez,” said Xander Bogaerts. “Coming into a game like that, I guess, for a pitcher, it’s tough, the opposing team just hacked.

“It spoiled the night a bit. As for the offense, it was quite nice to see everyone participating. “

Red Sox fans seemed nervous as well, especially after Brett Phillips and Mike Zunino both scored a homerun – representing five of the seven points the Rays netted in the inning.

“I felt like we were playing good baseball everywhere, obviously except for the ninth inning,” said Nathan Eovaldi.

2. Eovaldi allowed seven runs in a nine-run fifth inning in his last outing against the Blue Jays, but allowed just three hits and one run with 10 strikeouts on Thursday. He said he sorted out some mechanical issues with the Red Sox coaches, noting that he struggled to dominate the strike zone against the Blue Jays.

“It’s a game of little tweaks,” Eovaldi said. “It’s throwing to throwing, it’s round to round, match to match, you have to stay on your art. There is always something you can do better.

3. Bogaerts rolled over his hand while diving for a ball and noted after the match that he wanted to spread out, thinking he could catch it.

“It hurt at the start, maybe the first two sets afterwards, but I didn’t feel it much for the rest of the game,” said Bogaerts.

His hand didn’t seem like much of a problem in the eighth inning – he snatched a good Mejia pitch from Fenway.