Nate Lowe hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Tampa Bay Rays continued their playoff push with a 5-4 victory against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.
It was the third straight 11-inning victory for the Rays (92-63), who moved a game ahead of Cleveland in the race for the American League's second and final wild-card playoff berth after the Indians lost the Phillies later Saturday.
Willy Adames also homered for Tampa Bay.
Rays right-hander Diego Castillo (5-8) got the victory for the second straight night despite allowing a go-ahead, solo homer to Boston's Mitch Moreland in the top of the 11th.
Right-hander Josh A. Smith (0-3), the 11th Red Sox pitcher, took the loss.
Travis d'Arnaud led off the bottom of the 11th with a line-drive double to left field. Lowe then homered on a 2-0 count to left, his seventh of the season.
Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers also homered for the defending World Series champion Red Sox, who were eliminated from postseason contention Friday.
The Rays took a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Austin Meadows led off by grounding a ball to the right side of the infield that glanced off the glove of second baseman Marco Hernandez and into right field. An out later, Ji-Man Choi walked. D'Arnaud followed with a line-drive single to center to break the scoreless tie. After Lowe grounded out and Matt Duffy was hit by a pitch, right-hander Colten Brewer replaced Mike Shawaryn. Joey Wendle greeted Brewer with a line drive single to right, also off Hernandez's glove, to make it 2-0.
The Red Sox got a run back in the fourth on Bogaerts' leadoff homer off right-hander Yonny Chirinos. It was Bogaerts' 32nd homer of the season.
The Rays extended the lead to 3-1 in the seventh on Adames' solo shot to center, his 19th.
But the Red Sox tied it in the eighth. With one out, Mookie Betts lined a single to left and Devers followed with a two-run homer to left-center, his 31st.
Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow, making just his third start since returning from a right forearm strain that had sidelined him since mid-May, pitched three scoreless innings to lower his season ERA to 1.92. Glasnow gave up two hits and struck out seven without a walk.
--Field Level Media
Boston | Tampa Bay | |
Travis Lakins | Player | Tyler Glasnow |
No Decision | W/L | No Decision |
1.2 | IP | 3.0 |
2 | Strikeouts | 7 |
2 | Hits | 2 |
0.00 | ERA | 0.00 |
Boston | Tampa Bay | |
Xander Bogaerts | Player | Joey Wendle |
2 | Hits | 3 |
1 | RBI | 1 |
1 | HR | 0 |
6 | TB | 3 |
.400 | Avg | .750 |