ST. PETERSBURG — In what has been one of the most trying road trips in the history of the Red Sox roster-wise, there was an added urgency to win on a night Chris Sale was on the mound.
It wasn’t easy, but how could the Red Sox expect it to be after the way things have gone lately?
The bottom line is that they did what they set out to do, getting a key RBI single by rookie Jarren Duran with two outs in the top of the ninth to take the lead en route to a satisfying, 3-2 victory on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field.
Christian Vázquez put the wheels in motion when he clubbed a game-tying, solo homer to left with one out in the top of the seventh.
Garrett Whitlock pitched two clutch innings in relief of Sale to earn the win.
Rafael Devers started the key rally in the ninth with a single to right. With one out, Alex Verdugo hustled his way to an infield single on a chopper.
Duran got ahead in the count 2-0, and ultimately got enough of a 2-1 slider from Rays reliever Pete Fairbanks to get into right field. Devers roared in from second, making it narrowly without a slide.