Red Sox Beat Rays 11-7 to Eliminate Them from Postseason

The Boston Red Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 11-7 on September 19, 2025, at Tropicana Field, eliminating the Rays from postseason contention. Jarren Duran delivered the key moment with a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning, pushing Boston into a tie with Houston for the AL’s second wild card spot, 1.5 games ahead of Cleveland. Duran’s blast, his 16th home run of the season, turned a 3-3 tie into a 4-3 Red Sox lead. The outfielder also contributed a single during Boston’s seven-run eighth inning, which saw RBI hits from Nate Eaton and Ceddanne Rafaela, along with Tampa Bay miscues including two errors and a hit batter. For Tampa Bay, Everson Pereira provided late drama with a grand slam off Chris Murphy in the bottom of the ninth, narrowing the deficit but not enough to change the outcome. The Rays started strong—Yandy Díaz doubled on the first pitch and scored on a Nick Fortes single, followed by rookie Carson Williams’ fifth homer. Díaz later hit his 25th home run, marking the 100th of his MLB career. Boston answered in the second, as Eaton scored from first on a Nathaniel Lowe single. Alex Bregman tied the game in the third with his 18th home run. Garrett Crochet improved to 17-5, striking out nine over six innings while allowing three runs. Rays starter Drew Rasmussen was chased after just three innings. Garrett Cleavinger took the loss, surrendering the critical home run to Duran. This victory was crucial for the Red Sox, who badly needed Duran’s two-run shot—it was just their second home run with a man on base since Roman Anthony’s injury on September 2. Looking ahead, Boston will send Kyle Harrison (1-1, 4.05 ERA) to the mound in the next matchup, while Tampa Bay counters with Adrian Houser (8-4, 3.11 ERA). For more details and a full game summary, visit the CBS Sports recap.