Rays Walk Off Red Sox 2-1 as Bello's Gem Goes to Waste
Richie Palacios' ninth-inning single wasted an 11-strikeout night from Brayan Bello and pushed Tampa Bay another step closer to the AL East title.
The Rays keep finding ways to win the close ones. Tampa Bay's 2-1 walk-off victory over Boston on Saturday at Tropicana Field was their latest one-run escape — their record in one-run games now sits at 25-14 — and it trimmed the wait on an AL East crown that looks all but inevitable.
A duel decided late
Boston struck first in the third, when Caleb Durbin and Roman Anthony hit back-to-back doubles off Freddy Peralta for a 1-0 lead. Jonathan Aranda answered in the fourth, taking Brayan Bello deep for his 22nd home run of the season to level it at 1-1 — and that was all the scoring until the ninth.
Bello was superb otherwise: eight innings, five hits, one run, no walks and 11 strikeouts, matching his career high. It still wasn't enough.
The ninth inning that swung both ways
Boston looked poised to break through in the top of the ninth. Durbin doubled and Jarren Duran tripled, yet the Red Sox came up empty — Junior Caminero threw out Durbin trying to steal third, then made another sharp play to retire Isiah Kiner-Falefa and strand Duran 90 feet away.
Caminero then won it with his bat and his luck. Given new life when a foul pop caromed off a Tropicana Field catwalk, he lined a single off Garrett Whitlock, moved to third on a Connor Wong passed ball, and scored when Richie Palacios dropped a single into shallow right. Bryan Baker took the win; Whitlock the loss.
What it means
Per Torch's live table, the Rays sit at 95-60, six games clear of the Yankees in the AL East with a week to play, and they have won seven of their last eight. Boston, at 84-72, is still in the postseason hunt but let a winnable game — and a vintage Bello start — slip away in a race where every game now counts double.