Richie Palacios produced a two-out, walk-off single in the ninth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays edged the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on Saturday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla., to even their final home series of the regular season.
Against Garrett Whitlock (7-2), Palacios looped a 1-2 sinker into shallow right to score Junior Caminero as the Rays (94-60) hit their third walk-off winner during the nine-game homestand.
Jonathan Aranda homered while Liam Hicks and Chandler Simpson posted two hits apiece as Tampa Bay improved to 7-1 on the homestand.
Bidding for a fifth consecutive win over five starts, Freddy Peralta received no decision after yielding just one run on four hits over 5 2/3 innings that took 97 pitches. He struck out six and walked two.
Caleb Durbin stroked two doubles and scored for the Red Sox (84-71), who lost for the first time in three games.
Starting pitcher Brayan Bello went a season-best eight innings and allowed one run on five hits with a career high-tying 11 strikeouts.
The Rays got an out with the infield drawn in and appeared to escape trouble in the third. Then Roman Anthony, who homered and had three RBIs in Friday’s 4-2 win in the opener, remained hot and made it 1-0 with a two-out double that scored Durbin.
Cedric Mullins laid down a bunt single and reached second on Durbin’s throwing error to open the third, but he was picked off and caught trying to steal third on Jorge Mateo’s failed sacrifice bunt.
In the fourth, Aranda tied it 1-all when he rocked his 22nd homer to left field as he took Bello’s 97 m.p.h. four-seam fastball the opposite way.
With Bello still in the game in the seventh, Hicks led off with a single and Simpson dropped one into right with no outs. Following a groundout and a fielder’s choice, Bello ended the threat by whiffing Mullins on a foul tip.
Durbin lined his second double with one out in the ninth, but Hicks tossed him out trying to steal third. Jarren Duran followed with his fifth triple, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out to deep third to end the inning off Bryan Baker (4-2).
