Boston and Tampa Bay battled through a scoreless game into the late innings with both teams struggling to generate offense. The Red Sox finally got something going in the top of the seventh with a leadoff double. But Joey Wendell, playing third for the Rays, made a sharp grab to keep the game tight. Then Kevin Kiermaier threw out a Red Sox runner at home with a perfect one-hop missile from center field that ended the scoring threat after review confirmed the out. Christian Vázquez, the Red Sox catcher, tried to catch Tampa off guard with an aggressive lead at second but got picked off trying to take third, likely due to a misread or busted hit-and-run. It ended an otherwise promising inning with a frustrating out.
In the bottom of the ninth, with the score still tied, the Rays finally got a hit and took advantage of some defensive mistakes. Tampa’s Manuel Margot reached base, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error by Vázquez. Boston chose to intentionally walk Wendell, setting up a force play. But with two outs and a runner on third, a pitch got away from Vázquez, allowing Margot to score the winning run on a passed ball. It capped a rough sequence for Vázquez, who had three errors or misplays in quick succession. Margot’s celebration was low-key at first, but the team chased him down with a water bottle sneak attack. He dodged most of it but a cameraman wasn’t so lucky. Tampa walked it off in weird, scrappy fashion.