Tampa Bay Rays’ Nate Lowe, center, celebrates after his walk-off, two-run home run off Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Josh Smith during the 11th inning Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Nate Lowe hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 on Saturday night to move one game ahead of Cleveland for the second AL wild card.
Tampa Bay won its third straight game, all in 11 innings.
A day after the defending World Series champion Red Sox were mathematically eliminated, Mitch Moreland put Boston ahead 4-3 with a two-out homer in the 11th off Diego Castillo (5-8).
Travis d’Arnaud doubled off Josh Smith (0-3) in the bottom half, and Lowe sent an opposite-field drive down the left-field line.
Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers also homered for the Red Sox.
Boston’s J.D. Martinez 0 for 5 with four strikeouts as a designated hitter after missing three games with left groin tightness.
D’Arnaud and Joey Wendle had run-scoring singles as the Rays took a 2-0 lead in the third, and Willy Adames put the Rays ahead 3-1 with a long homer off Josh Taylor in the seventh.
Devers hit a two-run homer off Nick Anderson that tied it 3-3 in the eighth.
Rays starter Yonny Chirinos, reinstated from the 10-day injured list after being sidelined since Aug. 5 by right middle finger inflammation, entered in the fourth and allowed Bogaerts’ leadoff homer.
Bogaerts has a career-high 32 homers and 110 RBIs. He got his 51st double during the first.
Tyler Glasnow made his third start for the Rays after missing four months with a strained right forearm. He struck out seven in three scoreless innings.
BUSY BULLPENS
Boston used 11 pitchers on a bullpen day. With Glasnow on a pitch count of around 50, the Rays used nine pitchers.
FULL CLUBHOUSE
With the addition of Chirinos, the Rays now have a team record 39 active players. This is the last season that a team can expand to any number from the 40-man roster in September. Next year teams will carry 28 players during the month.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: LF Andrew Benintendi (jammed left thumb) pinch ran in the ninth. … RHP Heath Hembree, out since Aug. 2 with right elbow inflammation, will likely be opener in a game during the season’s final week.
Rays: All-Star 2B Brandon Lowe (bruised right shin and strained left quadriceps) played four innings in an instructional league game. … OF Avisail Garcia, who left after six innings Friday with dizziness, felt better but didn’t play.
UP NEXT
Rays LHP Ryan Yarbrough (11-4) will face Red Sox RHP Nathan Eovaldi (1-0) Sunday.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
