Ian Seymour, who grew up in Massachusetts, will make his first career start at venerable Fenway Park as the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back from a doubleheader sweep when they continue a four-game series against the red-hot Boston Red Sox on Saturday afternoon.
Seymour (6-2, 4.59 ERA) also will try to bounce back from losing the Rays’ final game before the All-Star break, as he allowed six runs in 3 1/3 innings in an 8-2 decision vs. the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. It was the left-hander’s shortest outing since June 14.
“It just boils down to throwing strike one, and I didn’t do a very good job of that,” Seymour said of his struggles last Sunday, five days after he struck out a career-high 12 in a 6-4 victory over the New York Yankees.
Seymour, who was born in Connecticut and raised in Westborough, Mass., is 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA in three career appearances against the Red Sox. He made his MLB debut in relief in Boston on June 9, 2025, and worked four innings of one-run ball in Florida in his first career start against the team on June 8 of this season.
The Rays still hold a 2 1/2-game lead over the Yankees atop the division, but Friday’s 10-0 and 5-3 losses to the Red Sox dropped them to 4-7 in their last 11 games. In three straight contests, they have allowed at least five runs.
Boston, meanwhile, has won 11 straight games, its longest win streak since 2016. No team has a better record than its 19-5 since June 19.
“They’re playing very well right now,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said of the Red Sox between Friday’s games. “They created their opportunities and capitalized when they had guys on base.”
Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero, who survived an injury scare in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, hit a game-tying solo homer in Friday’s nightcap to help spark the Rays’ offense after Tampa had just three hits in the matinee.
“You live and you learn,” shortstop Taylor Walls said. “Try to scrap it up.”
The nightcap saw Wilyer Abreu hit a pair of home runs, tying the game for the Red Sox in the first inning and giving them the lead in the third.
Add a Willson Contreras bomb and a dominant day from a pitching staff that has allowed just nine runs in its last eight games, and Boston moved to the .500 mark for the first time since March 28.
“It means a lot,” said interim manager Chad Tracy, who was named to his post on April 25, when the Red Sox were 10-17. “We talked a lot about the journey it’s been and how rough things were, but the guys have come together and they’re playing great baseball. … It’s nice, but there’s a long way to go.”
Abreu has nine games with multiple extra-base hits this season, but plenty of other Red Sox are feeling good during this stretch.
“It’s very fun right now,” Abreu said. “Everybody’s pushing in the same direction.”
Boston’s Patrick Sandoval (0-0, 2.08 ERA) is slated to make it a battle of left-handers on the mound on Saturday. It will be the 29-year-old’s second start since returning from Tommy John surgery that had sidelined him since 2024.
Last Thursday, Sandoval shut down the Chicago White Sox through his first four innings before being scored on and pulled in the fifth. He allowed a run on five hits, striking out five.
“Felt good, body feels good,” Sandoval said. “I thought (the stuff) was pretty good. I’m still knocking off a little bit of rust, but under the circumstances, I thought it was pretty good.”
Sandoval owns a 3.19 ERA across eight career outings in the head-to-head series.
–Field Level Media
