Drew Smyly and the Rays bullpen held the Red Sox to one hit, Kevin Kiermaier hit a solo home run in the 10th and Tampa Bay beat Boston 3-0 on Tuesday night for its third straight win. Smyly allowed one hit over eight innings and struck out 11 for the second straight start.
Smyly was in a pitching duel with Boston’s bullpen after starter Joe Kelly left in the first inning with stiffness in his right shoulder. The Red Sox used six relievers, and the first four preserved the shutout until Matt Barnes (1-1) faced Kiermaier to lead off the 10th.
Jackie Bradley Jr. had Boston’s hit, a single to center in the third. Erasmo Ramirez (3-0) threw a hitless ninth for Tampa Bay, and Alex Colome pitched the 10th for his second save.
Kiermaier drove a 2-2 pitch from Barnes deep into the stands in right field for the first run of the game on just the fourth hit of the night for the Rays. Tampa Bay added two more runs with two outs on a ground-rule double by Desmond Jennings after an error by third baseman Travis Shaw.
Kelly faced just four batters, walking two, and left after the training staff visited the mound for the second time in the inning.
Heath Hembree, recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket earlier Tuesday, took over and went 3 1/3 innings. Hembree allowed two hits and struck out four.
Robbie Ross Jr. started the fifth and also struck out four while allowing one hit over three innings.
The Red Sox needed the strong showing from the bullpen to keep up with what Smyly was doing to Boston’s lineup.
Boston had its best chance in the third. Chris Young and Ryan Hanigan began the inning with consecutive walks, and then Bradley’s single loaded the bases. The Rays got a force out at home when Mookie Betts hit a sharp grounder right to third baseman Evan Longoria. The Red Sox still had the bases loaded for Dustin Pedroia, but Smyly got out of the jam by getting Pedroia to ground into a double play.
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