The Red Sox offense was virtually non-existent Monday night.
Opening a three-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field, Boston managed just four hits and was held to one hit over three innings by opener Ian Seymour in a 3-1 loss.
Not only did the offense stay silent all night, but Connelly Early was once again victimized by the long ball.
The rookie left-hander fell behind 1-0 immediately when Rays leadoff hitter Yandy Díaz launched a solo home run to open the bottom of the first inning.
It continued a troubling trend for Early, who has now surrendered 12 home runs over his last 10 starts after not allowing a single homer through his first eight career outings, including last year’s postseason.
Coupled with the home run issues, Early was erratic on the mound, hitting a batter and walking four in the loss. The southpaw worked 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out six.
Early escaped trouble in the third after issuing back-to-back walks to open the inning. The rookie left-hander responded by getting Jonathan Aranda to bounce into a double play before retiring Ben Williamson on a grounder to third, stranding the remaining runner and keeping the game tied.
Two innings later, Aranda got to Early. With two outs and a runner on third in the fifth, Early left a four-seam fastball over the plate and Aranda lined it the other way into left field for a go-ahead RBI single, giving Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead.
The southpaw generated 14 swings and misses, including five with his four-seam fastball, five with his sinker, two with his changeup and two with his sweeper. He threw 96 pitches, 54 for strikes, but elevated pitch counts and a lack of command prevented him from pitching deeper into the game.
“(I) didn’t do a good enough job, spraying the ball too much,” Early told reporters. “I think I was just trying to execute the outer rail, and I didn’t do a good enough job. … Left a lot of game up for the bullpen to solve, and that’s a tough job, to expect them to go four-plus innings.”
Hard-throwing right-hander Tyron Guerrero kept Boston within striking distance, allowing one hit and striking out two over 1 1/3 scoreless innings after replacing Early.
The rest of the bullpen wasn’t quite as sharp. Greg Weissert, whose struggles with inherited runners have been well-documented this season, entered the game in the eighth with a clean slate and still found trouble. The right-hander allowed a one-out single to Junior Caminero and then walked pinch hitter Victor Mesa Jr., prompting Chad Tracy to go back to his bullpen.
Danny Coulombe was summoned to extinguish the threat and needed just five pitches to do it. The veteran left-hander induced a pair of harmless fly balls to left field, ending the inning and preventing Tampa Bay from adding to its lead.
