Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox

Crawford allows big league-high 34th homer, 16th loss, Rays beat Red Sox 7-2

“Command was off today. He didn’t have feel for the four-seamer,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “So, a lot of cutters. He’s very efficient if he attacks the zone. Today he was erratic.”

Caminero had three RBI for the Rays (80-81), who with a series sweep would avoid their first losing season since 2017. Caminero and Brandon Lowe had three hits each.

“I felt good,” Caminero said through a translator. “Go out there, play my game that I know how to pay. Things are working out for me right now. And just being consistent, that’s the key for me.

Shane Baz (4-3) won his third straight start, allowing two runs and three hits in six innings with seven strikeouts, one walk, two hit batters and a run-scoring wild pitch.

Crawford (9-16) gave up six runs, five hits and four walks in 4 1/3 innings with six strikeouts, finishing with a 4.36 ERA. His 33 starts tied for the major league lead.

“Not very good,” Crawford said. “Didn’t have a whole lot of feel for the fastball, so I had to use the cutter a lot, but overall, just not a very good outing.”

Tristan Casas’ 13th homer put Boston ahead in the first.

Caminero gave the Rays a 2-1 lead with a two-run homer in the third off Crawford (9-16) following Yandy Díaz’s walk,

Tampa Bay opened a 6-1 lead in the fifth on consecutive one-out singles by Díaz, Brandon Lowe, Caminero and Jonathan Arando, the last two driving in runs. Josh Lowe hit a two-run single off Greg Weissert.

Red Sox center fielder Jarren Duran doubled up Josh Lowe at first base in the fourth on Jose Siri’s flyout. Durran began the day with 11 assists, tied for the major league lead among outfielders.

Boston finished 8-7 this year in its yellow City Connect uniforms, a tribute to Patriots Day weekend and the Boston Marathon. The Red Sox are 20-10 in the yellow jerseys since the start of 2023.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: INF José Caballero, who was hit on the side of his lower left leg by a pitch in the seventh inning of Friday’s game, was out of the starting lineup. Caballero, who entered Saturday leading the American League with 44 stolen bases, underwent an X-ray, which was negative.

UP NEXT

Rays RHP Ryan Pepiot (8-7, 3.64 ERA) starts Sunday’s season finale. RHP Quinn Priester, a 24-year-old acquired from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline for infielder/outfielder Nick Yorke, likely will make his Red Sox debut. Taken 18th overall in the 2019 amateur draft, Priester was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in nine starts at Worcester and 4-2 with a 4.38 ERA overall in 16 Triple-A starts this year.

How can I watch Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox?

• TV Channel: Rays at Red Sox 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
• Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

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