With postseason berths out of reach for both teams, the Boston Red Sox host the Tampa Bay Rays to begin a season-ending, three-game series on Friday.
The opener marks the first contest for the Red Sox (80-79) since they were eliminated from the race following a 6-1 road loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, coupled with wins by the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals.
A previous four-game win streak kept Boston's slim hopes alive, but going 27-36 overall since the All-Star break was too much to overcome for the likes of Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and the youthful roster.
"Outside our walls here, nobody expected us to play meaningful games all the way until now," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "(Our goal of making the playoffs) didn't happen, but it's a good learning experience for those kids over there. At one point it felt like we were a playoff-caliber team, and then we missed the opportunity."
On Wednesday, Boston's Richard Fitts extended a franchise-record start to his major league career to 18 2/3 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run until Toronto broke through in the fourth. The Red Sox were held scoreless until the sixth.
As a result, the run of critical games is now over. But center fielder Jarren Duran sees plenty to be excited about moving forward.
"It's a good building block for next year," he said. "I'm always hungry for the next step. But what we have in this clubhouse is special. And I know there's a lot of people that don't see it, but ... I'm really happy with where we're at and what we're going to accomplish."
Friday could mark the final Boston start for soon-to-be free agent Nick Pivetta (6-11, 4.21 ERA). The right-hander pitched five innings and yielded just one unearned run in the opener of a Sunday doubleheader against the Minnesota Twins for his first victory since July 29.
Calling Fenway Park home "is very surreal," Pivetta told the Boston Globe. "And I've just enjoyed every single moment."
Pivetta is 1-7 with a 4.67 ERA in 13 career appearances (12 starts) against Tampa Bay, including an 0-1 mark with a 5.23 ERA in two starts this year.
The Rays (78-81) just got swept at Detroit, where the Tigers rallied from 3-0 down for a 4-3 win on Thursday -- their fifth straight victory and 30th in 41 games to surge back into the playoff chase.
"That's the last team in baseball that you want to give any momentum," Rays manager Kevin Cash said of the Tigers.
Now, Tampa Bay will need to pull off its own sweep to avoid its first sub-.500 season since 2017.
"It's frustrating, but you have to accept it," Cash said. "Hopefully, we can make the decisions needed (this offseason) and learn from where some things went wrong to improve upon it, because this is not a position that we want to be in moving forward."
Scheduled Friday starter Taj Bradley (7-11, 4.30 ERA) is one of the pitchers the Rays will be able to build around in 2025 and beyond, but he will first look to finish this season on a high note.
The 23-year-old right-hander had gone winless in nine straight starts before dealing five innings of one-run ball on Saturday to beat the Blue Jays. He has a 2.89 ERA over his past two starts after registering an 8.27 mark in his previous eight.
"It's gonna be exciting, man. I really think so," Bradley said, looking to next year. "I think we're going to have the best rotation in the league, honestly."
Bradley is 3-1 with a 4.91 ERA lifetime against Boston. He made consecutive starts against the Red Sox in May and went 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA in those contests.
Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe has recorded hits in eight of his past 10 games after going 2-for-4 with two RBIs on Thursday.
