Christopher Morel drove in four runs, Brandon Lowe clubbed his 30th homer of the campaign and the Tampa Bay Rays drubbed the Boston Red Sox 7-3 on Sunday night in their home finale.
Morel went 2-for-4 and knocked in the first two runs with a double and two more with an eighth-inning single as the Rays (76-80) broke an eight-game losing streak against Boston (85-71).
Tampa Bay leadoff batter Chandler Simpson went 2-for-4 with a run and recorded his 43rd stolen base, while Junior Caminero had two hits, two runs and a walk.
Starter Joe Boyle fired 4 1/3 innings and allowed one run on four hits with a career-high nine strikeouts, but the righty walked four.
Garrett Cleavinger (2-6) tossed a perfect sixth.
The Rays finished 41-40 in their temporary home park, where the New York Yankees play during spring training.
Boston’s Alex Bregman and Romy Gonzalez each had two hits, an RBI and two walks. Masataka Yoshida added two hits.
Gold Glove right fielder Wilyer Abreu (calf sprain) was activated and went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in his first game since Aug. 17.
Starting pitcher Connelly Early (1-1), who made his major league debut on Sept. 9, suffered his first career loss by yielding three runs (two earned) on three hits in four innings. The lefty fanned four and walked two.
The home side loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning, and Morel rocketed a two-run double over third for a 2-0 lead. Third baseman Bregman’s throwing error to home in the next at-bat added an unearned run.
Back-to-back doubles in the fourth plated Boston’s first run, as Nathaniel Lowe and Ceddanne Rafaela laced two-baggers off Boyle.
In the fifth, and with Boyle pulled in favor of righty Cole Sulser, the visitors again loaded the bases with two outs, but Nathaniel Lowe whiffed — his second at-bat stranding three.
Leading off the sixth, Brandon Lowe greeted southpaw Steven Matz with a 384-foot shot to right on the reliever’s 1-2 curveball.
During a four-hit seventh against Bryan Baker, Bregman and Gonzalez hit RBI singles to slash the deficit to 4-3, but Morel plated two in the next frame before Jake Mangum’s sacrifice fly made it 7-3.
–Field Level Media
