What started out as a positive sign for the Tampa Bay Rays turned to be another rough outing, as Jake Faria gave up eight runs without making it out of the second inning, as Xander Bogaerts hits a grand slam and drove in six to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 10-3 win over the Rays Saturday at Fenway Park.
FARIA FLOPS: The Tampa Bay starter needed 38 pitches to get through the first inning, watching a 2-0 lead turn into a 4-2 deficit as Boston loaded the bases on a double by Mookie Betts, a walk to Andrew Benintendi and a flate single by Hanley Ramirez. J.D. Martinez lifted a sacrifice fly that scored Betts. Bogaerts followed with a double that brought in Benintendi and Ramirez and Rafael Devers plated Bogaerts with a base hit.
The right-hander's second inning turned out to be even worse, as he loaded the bases on walks to Betts, Benintendi and Martinez before Bogaerts turned on a Faria fastball and sent it out of the stadium to extend the lead to 8-2.
"He just couldn't find his release point, and the fastball really seemed to take off arm-side on him," manager Kevin Cash said afterward. "Just one of those days when [his command] was not there."
The right-hander was much more critical of his performance.
"It's frustrating. It's embarrassing. I'm in the big leagues and a can't throw strikes to anybody," Faria said after the game. "3-1 count to almost every hitter. This is embarrassing."
He said he had never experienced a stretch where none of his pitches seemed to work for him.
"Every game before this, I've been able to figure it out and grind through it. Today's one of those days I just couldn't figure it out," Faria admitted. "That's on me for not taking a step back, not taking a deep breath, just letting everything speed up on me and not making any adjustments."
PRUITT, ROBERTSON SHINE IN BLOWOUT: Manager Kevin Cash had to turn to Austin Pruitt with two out in the second after the Bogaerts grand slam, and the right-hander made the most of his opportunity.
Pruitt ended up pitching 4 1/3 innings of shutout baseball, allowing just one hit -- a third-inning single by Mookie Betts -- and a walk while striking out a pair.
Cash also had to use a position player on the mound, as infielder Daniel Robertson worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning on just 11 pitches.
"Nobody's happy we're 1-7," Cash said. "But the way Pruitt's stepping up [with] Chaz, Romo, obviously Robby. None of those guys are supposed to be pitching in those situations. Little things that go unnoticed. Joey Wendle's diving for balls when we're down 8-2. Wilson Ramos blocking everything in the dirt. It's a sign of the type of team that we want to be, we're just not quite doing it right now."
BATS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE: Tampa Bay jumped out to a 2-0 first-inning lead thanks to a two-run double by Brad Miller off Rick Porcello, but the Rays' bats fell silent after that. Porcello retired a stretch of 20 of the next 21 hitters before Wendle doubled to start the eighth inning and scored two batters later on a base hit by Denard Span.
- SUNDAY'S MATCHUP
Rays at Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, 1:05 pm first pitch with coverage on WDAE beginning at 11:00 with The Inside Pitch presented by Crown Eurocars.
Rays starter - RHP Andrew Kittredge (0-2, 3.18 ERA)
Red Sox starter - LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (6-7, 4.19 ERA in 2017)
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Monday - at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 pm first pitch
Tuesday - at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 pm first pitch
Wednesday - at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 pm first pitch