Passed Balls, Errors, and Contreras Power BOS Past TB 6-1

Boston didn't need to earn all of its runs the hard way — Tampa Bay's catcher handed over two of them on a pair of passed balls in the third inning. Willson Contreras then made sure the margin was never in doubt, going 1-for-3 with a 414-foot home run to right center that put the game away.

The biggest moment of the night, statistically speaking, came before Boston had even scored. Victor Mesa Jr. hit a 317-foot home run to center in the second inning, swinging Boston's win probability from 67% down to 53% — a 13-point drop that briefly made this look like a Tampa Bay afternoon. It didn't last. Andruw Monasterio doubled to left in the same inning, scoring Durbin to tie it at 1, and the momentum — if you want to call it that — never swung back Tampa Bay's way.

The third inning is where this game got genuinely strange. Tampa Bay catcher Feduccia was charged with a passed ball that scored Jones and allowed runners to advance, then was charged with another passed ball on the very same play description — the scoring sequence lists it twice, pushing Boston to 2-1. Whether that's a data quirk or a chaotic sequence at the plate, the result was the same: free runs for Boston. Durbin then grounded into a fielder's choice, Abreu scored, and Tampa Bay third baseman Caminero compounded the damage with a throwing error that kept Contreras safe at third. González grounded out to second, but Contreras crossed the plate anyway. Four runs in the third, three of them handed over by Tampa Bay's own defense, and the game was effectively over at 4-1.

Sonny Gray did his part, going 6.0 innings and allowing just 1 earned run on 5 hits, walking 4 and striking out 5 — a workmanlike line that looks even better given how much Tampa Bay's own mistakes inflated the margin. Shane McClanahan, on the other side, gave up 4 earned runs in 5.0 innings with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts — a rough afternoon that the bullpen couldn't fully salvage aesthetically, even if Chris Roycroft (2.0 IP, 0 ER) and Craig Kimbrel (1.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 K) kept it clean late. Contreras's fifth-inning shot — 414 feet, scoring Rafaela — was the exclamation point on a 6-1 final. The story of this game wasn't Boston's offense overpowering anyone; it was Tampa Bay's defense and pitching unraveling at the worst possible moments, and Contreras being exactly the kind of hitter who punishes you when you're already on the ropes.