The Red Sox needed just one swing, one pitch, and a whole lot of bullpen brilliance to edge out the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 on Wednesday night — and the unlikeliest of heroes stepped up in the moment.
David Hamilton, entering the game with just one hit in 21 at-bats this season, delivered the difference-maker: a 335-foot solo home run in the third inning that hugged the right-field foul pole. It had just a 3.33-second hang time — the shortest of any home run in the majors this year — and, per Statcast, would not have left the yard in any other big league ballpark.
“Honestly, I was hoping it would get down,” Hamilton admitted postgame. “I didn’t think it was going over. It’s a great feeling.”
Hamilton's rare power surge broke his early-season slump and gave the Red Sox (11-9) all they needed to take the series finale against the Rays (10-10). But it wasn’t just the bat — Boston’s pitching staff turned in a gem. Starter Sean Newcomb delivered his best outing in years, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings and holding Tampa Bay to four singles and two walks. It was his longest scoreless appearance since June 2019.
“Of the four [starts], it was definitely the best one,” Newcomb said. “Now I kind of feel locked in and ready to roll.”
Red Sox defeat the Rays, David Hamilton breaks out of his slump
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Newcomb exited with two outs in the fifth and the tying run on second, handing the ball to Greg Weissert, who promptly struck out Yandy Díaz to preserve the slim lead. Weissert, Garrett Whitlock, and Justin Slaten combined to retire 13 of the final 14 Rays hitters with no walks and nine strikeouts. Slaten locked down the ninth with a clean 1-2-3 frame, picking up his second save of the year. Manager Alex Cora praised the bullpen effort, as well as the preparation it took after a rough start to the series.
“Everybody sees the usage and not taking the starter out early and all that,” Cora said. “But you have to manage the series. We’re not going to survive otherwise.”
The Red Sox offense didn’t offer much support outside of Hamilton’s homer, going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranding six. But they also struck out just seven times — a small win for a team that entered Wednesday leading MLB in strikeouts and had fanned 10+ times in 13 of its 20 games.
Rafael Devers collected a walk and a single in his 1,000th career game, becoming the 31st Red Sox player to hit the milestone and only the 12th to do it before turning 29. Following the win, Boston heads home for a much-needed off day Thursday after playing 20 games in 21 days. They’ll return to Fenway Park for a seven-game homestand beginning Friday against the White Sox and Mariners.
“We haven’t played great for a while,” Cora said. “But we’ve had back-to-back clean games. If we keep doing that, we’re going to have a chance.”
