BOSTON — The four solo home runs Zack Littell gave up over the first five innings were the reason the Rays lost 4-3 to the Red Sox on Wednesday.
The details are right there on the video and in the game log:
Jarren Duran got Littell on his opening pitch of the game, rookie Marcelo Mayer on the first pitch of the second inning, Mayer again in the fourth and Abraham Toro in the fifth.
But why the Rays didn’t win the game, manager Kevin Cash said, was their inability to score more themselves.
“Like to think that offensively we can overcome the solo runs,” Cash said. “We just didn’t tonight.”
As a result, they fell to 36-32. They dropped their first series in nearly a month. They lost back-to-back games for the first time in almost as long.
“It’s a tough loss because we’ve been feeling good,” Jose Caballero said. “So you just have to shake it (off) and think about the Mets (this weekend) now.”
Part of their problem Wednesday was the result of Boston’s pitching, as Walker Buehler and three relievers shut down what had been one of the majors’ hottest offenses over the last three weeks for a second straight night.
But the other, and bigger, factor was somewhat self-inflicted — not taking advantage of the opportunities they had, which had been a foundation of their majors’ best 15-4 run.
For weeks, the Rays were getting at least some big hits when they needed them. They did the little things right in terms of moving runners and putting the ball in play. They used their aggressive baserunning to pressure opponents into mistakes.
But none of that worked Wednesday.
They were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position. They got only one run — on an infield groundout — after loading the bases to start the second. Jose Caballero, the majors’ best base thief, was thrown out trying to swipe third in the eighth. And when they loaded the bases again after that, Matt Thaiss struck out to end the inning.
“Like I say all the time, when we do the little things well, all the things are coming our way,” Caballero said. “And then when we stop doing the little things, then it gets a little tougher.”
The Rays loaded the bases in the second on singles by Jake Mangum and Thaiss and a walk by Kameron Misner. But Taylor Walls — batting for the 11th time this season with the bases loaded (fourth most in the majors), and now 1-for-7 though with seven RBIs — flied out to shallow left on the first pitch. Josh Lowe chopped a ball up the middle, allowing Mangum to score as the Sox forced out Misner but couldn’t complete the double play.
After Josh Lowe stole second, Brandon Lowe grounded out softly to end the inning.
“Kind of, that’s the game,” Cash said. “There’s certain games where it comes early. We’ve got to find a way to get more than one run.”
The Rays, briefly, tied it 3-3 between the third and fourth homers Littell allowed as Brandon Lowe reached on an infield single with two outs in the fifth and Yandy Diaz homered to right.
But two batters into the home fifth, Littell allowed his fourth homer of the night, and majors-most 21st of the season, to Toro.
“It’s frustrating to watch the offense grind it out, and you just not keep the momentum on your side,” said Littell, who felt he executed poorly on the home run pitches but pitched well overall in getting through six innings.
The Rays had another chance to make him feel better in the eighth as with one out Diaz singled (with Caballero running for him) and Jonathan Aranda was hit by a pitch.
With Greg Weissert taking over on the mound and Junior Caminero batting, Caballero — successful in 25 of 29 steal attempts — took off for third, but was thrown out by catcher Carlos Narvaez.
Caballero said he felt he did everything right — in deciding to go, in timing it well, in getting a good lead and jump.
“They knew I was running,” Caballero said. “The whole stadium knew I was running. I felt like I did a good job with the lead and with the secondary (lead) and the jump as well. (Narvaez) just did a better job than me.”
Cash said he “100%” supported Caballero’s decision to try.
“That’s how we’re going to score runs,” Cash said. “That’s part of our makeup, DNA of our team, of our offense. And I’m going to trust his decisions out on the bases.”
Caminero ended up walking and Mangum beat out an infield single to load the bases again, but Weissert got Thaiss swinging.
“Of course, anytime you have runners in scoring position, it’d be huge to get hits, but can’t always get them,” Walls said. “All you can do is just put yourself in those situations, try to have as good of a plan and a plan that you’re convicted in, and at the end of the day, it’s trying to execute it. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t. I think the outcome’s not always in your control.”
Bottom line on losing their first series since May 16-18 at Miami?
“We didn’t play good enough to win it,” Cash said. “We’ve got to play better baseball, come up with some bigger hits.”
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