G109: Rays 8, Red Sox 5

Rays    - 140 001 200 - 8 12  1
Red Sox - 001 100 300 - 5 12  0

Rick Porcello (5.2-9-6-1-7, 98) gave up three home runs, including two in the second inning. Austin Meadows's three-run job down the right field line put the Rays up 5-0 and the Red Sox could do nothing more than tease fans with a seventh-inning rally.

Boston, in losing its last two games, has slid back to 10 games out.

The Red Sox trailed by three runs when they batted in the eighth. Sam Travis led off with a single, but Colin Poche struck out Christian Vázquez, Michael Chavis, and Jackie Bradley, all swinging.

Chaz Roe pitched the ninth for the Rays and gave up a leadoff single to Mookie Betts (3-for-5). After two groundouts, Betts was standing on third base. J.D. Martinez (3-for-4, 2 RBI) walked, bringing Andrew Benintendi to the dish as the potential tying run. Benintendi was 13-for-22 (.591), with a 1.761 OPS in his last five games, but Roe got a strike three call on a 1-2 pitch at the top of the zone. Benintendi finished the night 0-for-5, with three strikeouts.

The Rays had scored four or fewer runs in 10 straight games from July 16-26 (3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3), but have scored at least six in their last four games (9, 10, 6, 8).

Porcello gave up a run in the first inning before he had thrown ten pitches. Back in the dugout, he smashed two television monitors with his fists while on his way to the clubhouse. No word on what Porcello did after allowing a four-spot in the second. Kevin Kiermaier hit Porcello's first pitch out to right-center, in his first at-bat since returning from the injured list. The Red Sox right-hander got two outs, but then gave up a single, a walk, and a three-run dong.

Porcello has allowed five or more runs in five of his last seven starts.

AL East: MFY 7, Diamondbacks 5.. ... MFY –, TBR 7.5, BOS 10.0.

Andrew Kittredge / Rick Porcello

Betts, RF
Devers, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Martinez, DH
Benintendi, LF
Travis, 1B
Vázquez, C
Chavis, 2B
Bradley, CF

The Globe's Alex Speier tweeted this morning that even if the Red Sox add a bullpen arm at the deadline, "they're going nowhere w/o rotation consistency, elusive this year as Gatsby's green light".

The deadline has come and gone, and Dave Dombrowski did not make any deals:

This is our group. Let's go.

The Red Sox's consistent inconsistency needs to become consistently inconsistent.

Starting tonight, we will run faster, hit harder, stretch out our pitching arms farther, and then one fine morning ...



AL East: Diamondbacks/MFY, 1 PM. ... MFY –, TBR 7.5, BOS 9.0.