The Red Sox went from a 6-1 loss to the Yankees on Sunday afternoon straight into a three-game Red Sox - Rays series in Tampa Bay, with Connelly Early set to take the ball Monday against Ian Seymour. Boston had been tied 1-1 with fewer than two innings left in New York before the game slipped away, and now it gets a quick chance to reset against the team at the top of the AL East.
Early’s start matters because he already showed he could handle Tampa Bay once. On May 8, he held the Rays scoreless for 7.0 innings and struck out eight, a sharper outing than his most recent turn against Baltimore, when he allowed four runs in 5.1 innings. For a Red Sox club that split its series with the Yankees and avoided losing two of three, the trip to Tampa is immediate and unforgiving: three games in three days, with the next two scheduled matchups already lined up behind Early.
Tuesday brings Payton Tolle for Boston and Nick Martinez for Tampa Bay. Tolle kept the Orioles scoreless over 6.0 innings in his last outing, while Martinez was knocked around for six runs in 4.0 innings against the Tigers, though he also held the Red Sox to one run in 5.2 innings at Fenway Park in May. Wednesday is less settled on Boston’s side, with Jake Bennett the likely starter opposite Drew Rasmussen, who has been tagged for four runs in 3.2 innings by the Pirates and five runs in 4.0 innings by the Angels since April.
The Rays still arrived as first place and tied with the Yankees atop the division, even while carrying uneven recent form that did not look like a division leader’s run. They were 3-7 over their last 10 games and 3-9 since a five-game winning streak ended, yet they still had enough in reserve to keep Boston from getting comfortable. Tampa Bay’s lineup also brings its own pressure points, with Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda each on 11 home runs and Chandler Simpson having stolen 14 bases while being caught eight times.
That is what gives the series its edge. The standings say one thing, the recent results say another, and Boston has to decide whether Early’s form against Tampa Bay can carry over before the rotation turns to Tolle, then to the still-unconfirmed Wednesday starter. If Bennett gets the nod, the Red Sox will be asking a pitcher with a 1.60 ERA in 39.1 innings at Worcester to handle a team that has not looked dominant lately but still owns first place.
