Rays blow lead, get swept by Red Sox; but that may not be worst part

ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays blew an early three-run lead, saw their bullpen get pummeled, dropped back under .500, lost a season-high fourth straight game and were swept at home by the Red Sox, capped by an 8-5 loss.

But that may not have been the worst news Wednesday.

Outfielder Josh Lowe, one of the recently activated hitters the Rays were counting on to spark the offense, is headed for an MRI tube to see if the right side tightness that forced him from the game is a recurrence of the oblique strain that sidelined him for the first 5½ weeks of the season.

“Extremely frustrated,” Lowe said. “Nothing else to say other than that. I worked my ass off to be here and to get back and then put myself in a situation to play. And to have something happen again is frustrating.”

That was a word heard elsewhere in the clubhouse as the Rays (25-26) tried to assess Wednesday’s loss and their overall poor play in dropping three straight to the same team they beat three of four times last week in Boston.

The answer actually was quite obvious, as the Rays had issues at the plate, on the mound and in the field.

“They outplayed us in every facet,” manager Kevin Cash said. “We didn’t perform.”

Offense has been an issue, with the Rays scoring only four total runs over their previous three games. By those standards, Wednesday started well, as they grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Jose Caballero delivered the big hit, a two-run single, then scored on a Yandy Diaz ground out.

But as in Tuesday’s loss, that was pretty much it for the offense as the Sox scored eight before the Rays added single runs in the seventh and ninth.

“We’re just battling, trying to score as many runs as possible,” Caballero said. “I know it’s getting tough at some point in the game, but the effort is there. I know we’re all trying, and it’s frustrating for all of us.”

The Rays were hoping Ryan Pepiot could get into the fifth inning in his first start since being struck on the left leg by a line drive on May 5 and spending 16 days on the injured list.

His command wasn’t sharp, but he managed, despite allowing three walks and a single, to get through the first four innings unscathed, and in an efficient 53 pitches.

But the fifth was trouble from the start, as he walked No. 7 hitter David Hamilton, hit No. 8 Vaughn Grissom with a pitch and allowed a long, run-scoring single to No. 9 Ceddanne Rafaela, cutting the lead to 3-1 and ending his night.

“I thought the first four innings kind of went well,” Pepiot said. “Obviously, three walks (were) uncharacteristic. And then go out to the fifth inning, just kind of (the) wheels fell off. Just lost the command even more.”

Pepiot acknowledged the extended layoff — which included a three-inning simulated bullpen session Friday but no rehab start — “possibly” could have been a factor, but said, “I’m not going to make excuses about that.”

Plus, the real damage occurred after he left.

Lefty reliever Richard Lovelady, in his second outing since being acquired from the Cubs, allowed a one-out infield single to Wilyer Abreu that loaded the bases and a hard, two-run single by Connor Wong that scored two to tie the game at 3.

Kevin Kelly took over with two outs, and back-to-back soft singles (76.8 mph by Rob Refsnyder, 71 by Dominic Smith) gave the Sox a 5-3 lead. Worse, Kelly surrendered an RBI double to Jarren Duran and a two-run homer to Abreu in the sixth.

“Definitely did happen fast,” Kelly said. “Kind of got away from us quick.”

As did the momentum the Rays felt they built on the 5-2 road trip to Boston and Toronto, only to lose a series — and be swept — at home by the Sox for the first time since 2019.

Wednesday’s game capped a stretch of 13 straight against American League East opponents in which the Rays went 6-7 and gave them what Cash said is a most welcome day off Thursday.

“It’s always good to have an off day to recover, to get the mind out of baseball a little bit,” Caballero said. “Especially after 13 straight games and after three losses in a row (to Boston), it’s a good time for us to have an off day.

Added Cash, “Hopefully we can enjoy the day off and then get back and play some better baseball.”

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