The Boston Red Sox (78-84) defeated the Tampa Bay Rays (86-76) 6-3 on Wednesday evening in Boston. The Rays finish the regular season on a five game losing streak, and will head to Cleveland to take on the Guardians in the Best-of-Three Wild Card round.
J.D. Martinez hit a three-run homer in the first inning to give Boston a 3-0 lead. Ji-Man Choi answered with a two-run s hot i n t he third, but J.D. Martinez responded with a solo homer in the fourth that made it 4-2. Vidal Brujan homered in the seventh to pull the Rays within 4-3, but that would be as close as Tampa Bay could get.
Boston added two more runs of insurance in the eighth inning to make it a 6-3 final score.
The Rays now begin postseason play against the Guardians on Friday. The first game of the three-game series is scheduled for 12:07 PM on Friday - coverage begins with Jay Recher hosting the Inside Pitch at 11:00 AM on 95.3 WDAE & AM 620.
PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES