Palacios' walk-off single lifts Rays past Red Sox

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Richie Palacios dropped a ball into shallow right field in the ninth, and Tropicana Field finally exhaled.

Palacios' walk-off single scored Junior Caminero and gave the Tampa Bay Rays a 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, their third walk-off of the current homestand. ESPN's box lists Palacios 1-for-4 with an RBI. The Associated Press wrote that before the single, Tampa Bay had gone 0-for-17 with runners in scoring position over the first two games of the series.

Ninth-inning breaks

Caminero's foul popup bounced off the Tropicana Field catwalk and away from third baseman Caleb Durbin, the AP reported. Caminero then lined a single to left off Garrett Whitlock (7-2). Chandler Simpson singled, and a passed ball by Connor Wong moved Caminero to third before Palacios found the grass in shallow right, Simpson advancing to third on the play.

Bryan Baker (4-2) earned the win after surviving a messy top of the ninth. Boston put Caleb Durbin on second with a double and Jarren Duran on third with a triple, but Nick Fortes threw out Durbin stealing third and Caminero made a strong play at third to retire Isiah Kiner-Falefa, stranding Duran.

Aranda ties it; Bello's gem wasted

Jonathan Aranda had knotted the game with an opposite-field solo homer on the first pitch of the fourth, his 21st of the season, traveling 361 feet to left per ESPN's play-by-play. Boston had taken a 1-0 lead in the third on bookend doubles from Durbin and Roman Anthony. Trevor Story extended a 10-game hitting streak with a sixth-inning single.

Brayan Bello matched a career high with 11 strikeouts over eight innings, allowing five hits, one run and no walks. Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman was unavailable with lat tightness, the AP noted. Freddy Peralta started for Tampa Bay and worked 5 2/3 innings; the bullpen bridged to Baker.

East lead and Sunday

The Rays improved to 94-60, opened a five-game lead over the second-place Yankees in the AL East, and have won seven of their last eight. They are 25-14 in one-run games, best in the majors, per the AP. Boston fell to 84-71. Attendance was 27,402 in 2 hours, 33 minutes.

Palacios has made a living on contact that finds grass rather than gaps, and the walk-off fit that skill set - a shallow fly that dropped before the right fielder could charge it cleanly. Tampa Bay's 0-for-17 drought with runners in scoring position over the first two games of the series made the single feel larger than one RBI.

With a five-game cushion in the East and Jax on the mound Sunday, the Rays can afford to treat October as a destination rather than a hope. Palacios simply refused to let a Bello gem steal the night from them.

Griffin Jax (7-10, 3.80 ERA) starts Sunday's series finale for Tampa Bay; Boston had not named a starter. Palacios' shallow fly ball ended an RISP drought and kept the Rays rolling toward October.

Sources

ESPN

ESPN

CBS Sports