ST. PETERSBURG — Not even the bad omens went good for the Rays on Tuesday night.
The cat that suspiciously showed up in the visiting dugout a half-hour before the series opener was gray rather than black, and it certainly didn't carry any bad luck as the Red Sox rolled to an 8-4 win.
For a team supposedly primed for a crucial series, the Rays did little right. Not that it apparently mattered much to Tampa Bay area fans, as Tropicana Field was more than half empty, the crowd of 17,692 the smallest for a Red Sox game since August 2007, when the host team was the last-place Devil Rays.
"It's disappointing because we lost and you know how important these games are,'' Carl Crawford said.
Andy Sonnanstine struggled as a replacement for traded Scott Kazmir, allowing two homers and failing to get out of the fifth.
The Rays struck out 14 times — including seven in a 15-batter midgame stretch vs. starter Jon Lester. Most of the balls they hit hard were caught, most painfully at the critical moment by centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, a former Rays draft pick. And when they got to within three in the eighth with the bases loaded and no outs, they got nothing more as Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon notched a six-out save.
Plus, they made three errors, misplayed a few other balls and even messed up a chance for the third triple play in franchise history.
And as a result, their teetering postseason hopes tottered a little more as they fell to 71-60 and a season-high six games off the wild-card lead. Though the teams play five more times, the reality is this: If the Sox finish 16-15, the Rays have to go 23-8 to pass them.
Manager Joe Maddon insisted there was no cause for concern or frustration.
"We wanted it, the intent was good, we made some mistakes, we lost the game,'' he said. "But there was definite fight, and I love that part about our group.''
The Rays felt good about themselves and their chances, having won 14 of the last 16 games against the Sox under the slanted roof.
They got off to a decent start, scoring first and taking a 1-1 tie to the fourth after Akinori Iwamura's error led to a run. But Sonnanstine — who got the start based on experience, past success vs. Boston and supposed improvement in the minors — couldn't keep it close.
He allowed a two-run homer to J.D. Drew — "kind of a bad moment,'' Maddon said — and, after another error, a sac fly made it 4-1. And after Carlos Peña's AL-leading 39th homer, Jason Bay took Sonnanstine deep to make it 5-2, and the Sox added two more against a tag-team bullpen. Overall, Maddon and Sonnanstine said it wasn't a bad outing. "I feel like I got some of my funk back,'' Sonnanstine said.
For all that went wrong, the Rays had a chance to make it right in the eighth, cobbling a bunt, a walk and some bloop hits to score twice and load the bases. Papelbon whiffed B.J. Upton for the first out and Crawford fouled out for the third, but it was the middle out that mattered most — Ellsbury robbing Jason Bartlett with a sensational and risky sliding catch.
"That was the game right there pretty much,'' Maddon said. "That ball's 2 feet shorter or he's like 2 feet late, I think we win.''
"That's one of those plays where you have to catch it,'' Ellsbury said. ""If I miss it, I probably run off the field.''
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