The Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox played the craziest game of the 2022 MLB season — through the season’s first few weeks, anyway — on Saturday at Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay had six pitchers — J.P. Feyereisen, Javy Guerra, Jeffrey Springs, Jason Adam, Ryan Thompson, and Andrew Kittredge — combine for a no-hitter through nine innings, but their offense only had two hits through nine innings. There was only one hit total in this game through 8 2/3 innings. The game went into extra innings scoreless.
The Red Sox have zero hits… and have reached extra innings.
The Rays have two hits.
Slugfest in Tampa Bay!
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) April 24, 2022
So, the Red Sox reached extra innings despite being no-hit, and in the 10th inning, they immediately got a hit and the game’s first run. Bobby Dalbec led off the top of the 10th inning with an RBI triple — there’s an auto-runner at second base to begin extras — to give Boston a 1-0 lead.
Bobby Dalbec triples and the Red Sox have the lead after recording their first hit of the game in the 10th inning! pic.twitter.com/1RDYtvmasR
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 24, 2022
A batter later, the Red Sox extended their lead to 2-0 when Christian Vazquez hit a sacrifice fly. After throwing nine-hit innings, the Rays found themselves trailing 2-0 in the 10th.
It remained a 2-0 game with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, until Boston’s prized free-agent signing Trevor Story threw the ball away on what appeared to be a game-ending groundball. This allowed a Rays run to score and allowed Taylor Walls to reach first base.
Trevor Story throws one away and the Rays ain't dead yet pic.twitter.com/8caYSTxAmI
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 24, 2022
And then Kevin Kiermaier crushed a laser over the right-field wall for a two-run homer, giving the Rays a 3-2 walk-off victory.
IN(KK)REDIBLE pic.twitter.com/pumna1AhTT
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 24, 2022
"I've always dreamed of that!"
Kevin Kiermaier is ecstatic after his walk-off homer to lift the @RaysBaseball over the Red Sox #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/Ir19fCHLdU
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) April 24, 2022
Insane.
No offense in this game for nine innings, but five total runs — granted, the free baserunners help — and plenty of drama in the 10th. That’s an incredible baseball game.
It’s also an extremely frustrating loss for the Red Sox after they were so close to taking advantage of a golden opportunity. And the Rays are certainly relieved to win a game they threw a no-hitter in for nine innings.
