The Red Sox might be destined for last place after all.

Boston lost the last 3 games of a 4-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays, including the series finale last night. The Rays won 4-2. For the third consecutive game, the Red Sox only managed to put up 2 runs.

Without David Ortiz’s 1st inning home run (the 502nd of his career), the Red Sox probably wouldn’t have scored at all. It was an opposite field job, and it scored Mookie Betts, who’d singled, to give Big Papi his 100th and 101st RBIs on the season.

Boston had absolutely nothing doing for the rest of the game. Erasmo Ramirez was pretty much unhittable from the 2nd inning on, as the Red Sox went down in order in the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 7th innings. The 4th inning was also technically a 1-2-3 affair, but only because Ortiz’s single was erased when Travis Shaw grounded into a double play.

Wade Miley was sitting pretty with that 2-0 lead for a long while. He got out of a first and third jam in the 2nd and stranded Evan Longoria at second base in the 4th after a leadoff double. That double was just barely left of the bleachers, missing home run distance by feet. Unfortunately for Miley, Longoria hit it to the same spot in his next at-bat. Only, way higher and farther.

With two outs in the 6th inning, Miley gave up an absolute bomb to Longoria.

Miley tried to shrug it off (I mean that literally – I’m pretty sure I saw him shrug at Ryan Hanigan), but it all unraveled after that. Logan Forsythe singled and scored to tie the game on a long double off the right edge of the Monster by Asdrubal Cabrera. Steven Souza, Jr. also used the Monster to double in Cabrera and give the Rays a 3-2 lead. All of this came with two outs, by the way. Hanigan caught Souza trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt to end the inning.

The Red Sox responded with a two-out infield single by Dustin Pedroia and nothing else.

Kevin Kiermaier hit a solo home run over the right field porch on a decent pitch by Miley to start off the 7th inning and add a run to the Tampa lead. After light-hitting catcher Luke Maile doubled with 1 out, Lovullo replaced Miley with Heath Hembree, who got out of the inning.

Miley pitched fine, giving up 4 earned runs over 6.1 innings. Actually, a more accurate way to put it is that he pitched really well, and then suddenly he was the most hittable guy on the planet, giving up 4 earned runs and 5 extra-base hits while only getting one more out off a Tampa bat. That, mixed with a slumping offense, is not a recipe for success.

Xander Bogaerts drew the only Boston walk of the night in the 9th inning, ending his 12-game hitting streak. In fact, closer Brad Boxberger threw six consecutive balls to walk Bogaerts and give Ortiz a 3-0 count before settling down to throw a strike and induce a game-ending double play. 4-2, final.

Notes:

1. Blake Swihart, who pinch-hit for Hanigan in the 8th, threw down to catch Kiermaier stealing. Xander made a really nice catch to put the tag on the runner.

2. Mike Hazen is your new Red Sox General Manager. Congrats, Mike! This always ends well.