G19: Rays 17, Red Sox 8

Rays    - 205 306 001 - 17 19  0
Red Sox - 301 100 003 -  8 13  4

The Rays completed a four-game sweep at Fenway Park on Thursday afternoon, setting franchise records for runs (42), hits (59), and extra-base hits (24) in a series against any opponent.

The Red Sox used two position players on the mound in the ninth. Jose Peraza moved from shortstop to pitcher and gave up a single and a double before he was injured by a liner that he threw to first for an out. Tzu-Wei Lin, who had come into the game at shortstop at the start of the inning, moved behind the plate because catcher Kevin Plawecki replaced Peraza on the hill. Jonathan Arauz moved from second to shortstop and Christian Vazquez came off the bench to play second base. Plawecki walked his first batter, but then got two outs.

The Red Sox are 6-13. Of the other 29 teams, only the Pirates have a worse record (4-13).

Tampa Bay had only three zeroes in its box score:

Tyler Glasnow / Kyle Hart

Verdugo, LF
Devers, 3B
Martinez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Pillar, RF
Plawecki, C
Araúz, 2B
Bradley, CF
Peraza, SS

Kyle Hart will be making his major league debut. The 27-year-old lefty was a 19th round pick and has spent parts of the last five seasons in the minors.

I've been at every level of this game and I've seen every type of player — come up, make it, not make, somewhere in the middle, young guys, old guys, uber-talented guys, guys maybe with less talent, more grit. ... I'm proud of the type of player that I am and the player that's going to debut [on Thursday] ...

I still think pro ball is a difficult thing. I thought about it a long time and I talked to my parents, talked to my family. Ultimately, I wanted to give it a shot. I didn't know how much I would love it. I didn't know how much happiness it would bring me. I'm glad I chose to stick with it and keep playing and I'm grateful for every opportunity I've been given and certainly the one I'm being given now — the ultimate opportunity of pitching in the big leagues. ...

Those times you're sleeping on an air mattress and not eating the food you want to eat, all the while, you're not living a normal life. You're not able to do the activities that you see your friends doing. They're starting families, they're traveling the world, they're padding their IRAs. They're kind of living the life that you probably should be living. But those times are the ones that makes it all worth it because you can look back and say, "None of this was handed to me," and I earned every drop of it. Those times definitely make you appreciate the good days.

Hart pitched in Portland (AA) and Pawtucket (AAA) last season, posting a 3.52 ERA in 27 games (24 starts).

Earlier this week, Hart was called into Pawtucket manager Billy McMillon's office. Red Sox director of player development Ben Crockett and pitching coach Paul Abbott were also there.

They told me that I was getting fined by Major League Baseball for not wearing my mask. That's kind of a real scenario that can happen and probably has happened. So I was a little worried at first, but then they told me, "You can go pay your fine at Fenway Park tomorrow." So, luckily, it was just a prank and they were pulling my leg.

Hart is disappointed that his family will not be at Fenway Park today. (However, his brother Ryan will watch the game at a bar near Fenway Park.) It seems like an exception could have been made for this one start. Have his parents and siblings scattered in one section. After all, Hart is going to have only one major league debut.