Rays squander several chances in ‘irritating’ 12-inning loss to Red Sox

BOSTON — The Rays eventually lost Tuesday’s game to the Red Sox 5-4 in 12 innings, walking off in defeat after Romy Gonzalez delivered the decisive run with a single off Manuel Rodriguez.

But most of the discussion afterward focused on a play that could have allowed the Rays to win it in the 11th, or at least be in a better position to do so, had they not messed it up so badly. It was the key moment in a game manager Kevin Cash, when asked to sum up, replied with one word:

“Irritating.”

The key moment came with one out in the 11th, as the Rays led 4-3 and the Sox had runners on first and third.

Rob Refsnyder hit a comebacker that Rodriguez gloved and immediately turned toward second to start what would been a game-ending double play. But with the infield playing in for a play at the plate, neither second baseman Richie Palacios nor shortstop Amed Rosario was in position to cover second base.

Rodriguez then looked home but felt it was too late to throw to catcher Ben Rortvedt to stop speedy David Hamilton from scoring the tying run. So Rodriguez turned again and got the out at first, eventually getting out of the inning with the game tied at 4.

The play — “ideally,” Cash said — should have been made at the plate. The sequence broke down in numerous ways, leaving enough blame for several Rays to take.

That started with Cash, who said it was his fault for not making clear to the fielders where the play should have been made.

“There was no thought of turning a double play,” Cash said. “When you play in, you’re kind of forgoing turning two, you’re trying to get the out at home. ... Manny popped up and obviously got a little lost on where to throw the ball. He secured the out and got through the inning. He did a nice job overall. Just, ideally, I give the guys a heads-up or the pitcher a heads-up where to go.”

Palacios said it was his fault for not reacting quickly enough to cover the base when Rodriguez grabbed the ball.

“Once the ball was hit, I thought it was actually coming to me,” he said. “So I took one step forward, and then after that I wasn’t able to get back to the bag. So, honestly, that was 100% my fault. I should have tried to get back to the bag and get that double play, and I didn’t do that there. ...

“Manny did the right thing. He turned to second to turn the double play, and then when I wasn’t able to get there, then I was pointing at home and he looked home. So Manny did the right thing. I didn’t.”

Rodriguez said it was his fault for making a bad decision in trying to get the double play, which left him without enough time to get the out at home.

“I sincerely thought I had the option to go to second base and turn the double play and end the game,” Rodriguez said via team interpreter Manny Navarro. “I think that was my error, and it cost us the game. ... I did see them (playing in). But I still thought the shortstop (Rosario) was going to get to second to get the double play. ...

“By the time I looked over to the runner on third, he was already more than halfway down (the line). So that’s why I decided to just throw to first.”

And watching it all unfold from home plate, Rortvedt said there wasn’t much he could do other than maybe direct traffic better.

“I know (the runners) were going on contact. Got to make a decision in a split second,” Rortvedt said. “If he came home right away, there probably would have been a play. But (Rodriguez’s) first instinct was to turn two at that point, and that would have ended the game. But no one was in position at second. ...

“Maybe it was on me to be a little more vocal, but it was just a matter of seconds at that point.”

The Rays dropped back under .500 at 21-22, but the night wasn’t a total loss.

Native northeasterner Aaron Civale, pitching at Fenway Park for the first time as a pro, and with many relatives and friends on hand, worked through the fifth inning for the first time in a month. Josh Lowe hit his first homer of the season. Closer Pete Fairbanks dazzled to lead an impressive bullpen brigade.

The Rays could have helped themselves in several ways, including by scoring more than one run in the three extra innings that started with a runner on second.

“It’s tough to win these extra-inning games with just one run,” Cash said. “You’ve got to do everything perfect, and we did not do that (Tuesday).”

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