Game result and context
Red Sox beat Rays 4-2 to open series, hold second AL wild-card spot
The Boston Red Sox scored all four of their runs in the first three innings and held on to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on September 18, 2026, in the opener of a three-game series. Roman Anthony homered and drove in three runs, Jahmai Jones added a solo homer, and Ranger Suarez earned the win. Boston improved to 84-70, while Tampa Bay fell to 93-60.
Final result
The Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Friday at Tropicana Field before a crowd of 23,342. The win moved Boston to 84-70. Tampa Bay dropped to 93-60.
Boston did all of its scoring by the third inning. The Rays answered only once after the first, in the ninth.
How the game changed
Roman Anthony opened the scoring with a solo home run in the top of the first, and the Rays matched it in the bottom half. That was as close as Tampa Bay would get.
The Red Sox scored twice in the second and once more in the third, when Jahmai Jones hit a solo home run. From there the game settled into a long stretch of zeros, with neither team scoring from the fourth through the eighth. Tampa Bay pushed across a run in the ninth but could not get the tying runs home.
Key performances
Anthony went 2 for 5 with a run scored, a home run and three RBIs. Jones was 1 for 3 with a run, a homer and an RBI. Boston hit two home runs; Tampa Bay hit none.
Ranger Suarez allowed one earned run over 5.2 innings and struck out five to improve to 8-4. Ian Seymour took the loss for the Rays, allowing four earned runs in 5.0 innings with five strikeouts, and fell to 9-7. Casey Legumina gave Tampa Bay 2.0 scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Jonathan Aranda went 1 for 5 with an RBI.
Season and playoff context
Through games of September 18, the Red Sox sit third in their division, 9.5 games back, and have been eliminated from the division race. Their wild-card position is stronger: Boston holds the second wild-card spot, 6.0 games clear.
The Rays lead the division and have already clinched, so the loss carried little standings consequence for them. For Boston, the win protected a comfortable wild-card cushion with the regular season winding down.
Series context
This was Game 1 of a three-game regular-season series. Boston leads the series one game to none with two games left at Tropicana Field.