Tampa Bay Rays fall to Boston Red Sox 6-3, drop six back in wild-card race

ST. PETERSBURG — Mathematically, technically and officially, the Rays are still in the American League wild-card race, and they will remain so for the next several weeks.

But realistically …

The Rays fell 6-3 to the Red Sox on Thursday, losing two of three in a series they needed to sweep and B.J. Upton for at least a couple of games with a left ankle sprain, and find themselves in treacherous territory — six back of the Sox with 29 to play, and most of them tough.

The Rays, naturally, claimed they had plenty of hope and time left, with disappointing about the strongest adjective they used. The Sox, who won a series at the Trop for the first time since 2007, see it differently.

"They have to play really, really well, and we have to play poorly," Boston's Mike Lowell said. "If they play like they have this year and we play like we have, I think six games are a lot."

Even if the Sox (78-55) are just okay, it's a lot. Consider it this way — if the Sox finish 15-14, the Rays have to go 22-7 to surpass them. (And 16 of their remaining games are against the contending Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox and Rangers.)

Manager Joe Maddon addressed the team before Thursday's game, and he stayed on message after the loss, the product of a so-so start from David Price, not much offense and a bounce or two that went Boston's way.

"It would have been nice to at least win two out of three, but it's not devastating," Maddon said. "There are still 29 games left, and we're going to do this thing one day at a time in spite of everybody wincing. I believe in that, and I want our guys to believe in that, and we're going to come out and play Detroit (tonight), and that's as far into the future as I'm looking."

And around the quiet clubhouse, the players were pretty much following his lead.

"It's not like anyone is going to hand it to us," first baseman Carlos Peña said, "but it's weird, stepping out of the frame and looking in, I think basically everyone's attitude is, 'You know what, bring it on.' I heard a lot of guys coming in (after the game) saying just keep grinding, keep grinding.

"So the last thing we lose is the belief it can happen. We are certain of the fact that the possibility is very much there, so that's what keeps us coming every single day."

Thursday's game started with a numbing first inning that took 32 minutes, featured four runs, six hits, 13 batters, 54 pitches and a tie. The Sox went ahead 3-2 on a massive 441-foot homer by former Ray Rocco Baldelli, his first hit as a visitor to the Trop, and the Rays tied it again in the fourth.

But the Sox went ahead in the sixth to finish off Price, who admitted he wasn't up to the task.

"I just wasn't very good, period," he said. "Didn't have command, didn't have my stuff, wasn't out there really mentally. I gave us a chance to win, but when you're out there like that against Boston, or really any team like that, you're going to lose."

The Sox added on against the Rays' bullpen, the key moment a Victor Martinez bouncer that just got over a jumping Peña's glove — "by like 1 centimeter," he said — for a key insurance run.

The Rays, meanwhile, went hitless from the fourth inning on, shut down by starter Clay Buchholz and the dazzling relief trio of Billy Wagner, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon.

"I like our spot right now," Boston leftfielder Jason Bay said. "There's still a whole month of baseball … but I guess right now it's better to be on top than looking up."

Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@sptimes.com.