Two-Out Rally Leads to One-Run Win: Rays 4, Red Sox 3

· Yahoo Sports

Jun 9, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Bryan Baker (47) reacts after the final out against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The Rays were the kings of the two-out rally on Tuesday night in a 4-3 win over the Red Sox.

Tampa Bay put Payton Tolle to the test early when Yandy Díaz lined a single to right, Junior Caminero followed by smoking a ball to the wall in center, and suddenly Tampa Bay had runners on second and third with nobody out to get the game started.

Well, sort of suddenly.

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Caminero got to second, but not before giving us one of the less graceful slides you will see from a professional athlete. It was part stumble, part survival tactic, part “please just let the bag still be there when I arrive.” He made it, and the Rays were in business.

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Then Caleb Durbin ruined the fun.

Chandler Simpson hit a hard liner to third, and Durbin made a terrific reaction play, snagging it and doubling Yandy off third before the Rays could cash in on the scoring position. It was the kind of play that flips an inning in one blink. Tampa Bay had Tolle wobbling, had a chance to grab an early lead, and came away with nothing.

The baseball gods did briefly offer them a second chance when a popup in foul territory near the mound turned into a three-person Red Sox game of “not it” for the baseball. Tolle dropped it while multiple Boston defenders stood around as if catching the ball were not the object of the game. Sometimes big leaguers look like little leaguers. The Rays still could not take advantage, even after Ryan Vilade singled and a passed ball moved him into scoring position. Austin Slater grounded out, and the first inning became a collection of missed chances.

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Thankfully for the Rays, Nick Martinez was doing his part to keep the game settled.

Martinez worked a clean first, then started the second by striking out Willson Contreras swinging. He kept Red Sox hitters uncomfortable and did not let Boston stack together the kind of loud inning that can make a game feel uphill early. Masataka Yoshida grounded out, Mickey Gasper popped out, and Martinez had the Rays right where they needed to be.

Boston broke through in the third when Isiah Kiner-Falefa doubled to left, Marcelo Mayer moved him to third with a groundout, and Jarren Duran lined a single to center to make it 1-0 Red Sox. Annoying, but effective baseball from the Red Sox is doing the boring things that matter.

The Rays, meanwhile, had to get to Tolle before the game got away from them. After going quietly in the third, they finally cracked him in the fourth, with quite the two-out rally.

Vilade started it with a double to left with one out. Slater popped out, and it looked like another inning where another runner might be stranded. Then Cedric Mullins put a hard grounder through the infield and into right. Vilade rounded third, Wilyer Abreu came up throwing, and Vilade beat the play at the plate to tie the game. It was a welcome pressure release valve after the Rays had let Tolle off the hook earlier.

Then Ben Williamson followed with a shot to the wall in left center for a stand-up double, scoring Mullins and giving the Rays the lead. Nick Fortes kept things moving with another double, bringing Williamson home for a 3-1 lead.

Three doubles in the inning. Three runs. All scored with two outs.

Tolle had spent the first few innings bending but not breaking. In the fourth, the Rays finally found the weak spot and pushed through it.

Martinez took that lead and protected it. In the fifth, Austin Slater helped him out with a leaping catch in right field, robbing what could have been an extra bae hit off the bat of Mickey Gasper. Instead of a leadoff problem, Martinez had an out. He followed with two more lineouts to Chandler Simpson, and the Red Sox were back in the dugout.

The sixth was more of the same. Martinez got Mayer on a flyout, struck out Duran, and then retired Rafaela.

Tampa Bay added what felt like an important insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Ben Williamson singled with two outs, Fortes was hit by a pitch, and Richie Palacios lined a single to center to score Williamson and make it 4-1. Again, it came with two outs. Again, it showed the kind of inning extension that has not always been easy for this lineup. A three-run lead with Martinez dealing felt comfortable.

Baseball enjoys mocking comfort.

The Rays had a chance to push for more in the seventh after Vilade singled and Slater reached on a soft grounder to third. For a moment, it looked like another two-out rally was forming. Instead, Vilade got caught in a rundown between second and third, and the inning ended. The Rays still led by three, but leaving extra runs out there always has a way of becoming relevant later.

Sure enough, the eighth inning arrived with trouble attached.

Durbin singled. Kiner-Falefa singled. Then Mayer pulled a ground ball down the right field line that stayed just fair, scoring both runners and cutting the Rays’ lead to 4-3. The barely fair ball left the Rays barely leading. Martinez’s night ended there, and despite the late damage, it was still a strong outing.

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Kevin Kelly entered with the tying run at second and nobody out, which is a lovely little stress test for a reliever. He got Duran to ground out, moving Mayer to third, then retired Rafaela and Abreu to escape with the lead intact, which was huge in this game.

The bottom of the eighth offered one more weird twist. Mullins reached on a strikeout and passed ball, giving Tampa Bay a needed baserunner. Williamson then lined a ball to center, but Rafaela made a great play and an even better throw to double Mullins off first. It was impressive for the Red Sox and inconvenient for the Rays.

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So the Rays carried a one-run lead to the ninth, because of course they did. Thankfully, the Red Sox had no plans of ending their winless streak when trailing after eight innings this season.

Bryan Baker handled it with no drama, which felt like a generous gift at that point. Contreras popped out, Yoshida grounded out, and Gasper grounded out to finish a 4-3 Rays win.

The Rays look for the sweep on Wednesday with Drew Rasmussen slated to take the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 pm EDT.

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