Tampa Bay Rays Beat Red Sox Despite Managerial Gaffe on Thursday

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night at Fenway Park, despite a managerial gaffe that you don't usually see from Rays' manager Kevin Cash. Here's what happened in the bottom of the ninth inning.

May 16, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash (16) relieves pitcher Jason Adam. / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night, 7-5, at Fenway Park despite a rare managerial gaffe from Kevin Cash.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, with the Rays leading 7-5, Cash was forced to remove reliever Jason Adam after exhausting all of his mound visits.

Per @CodifyBaseball:

the rays had to pull jason adam out of the game because they tried to make a mound visit and didn't have any left

i mean they keep track right there on the scoreboard

the rays had to pull jason adam out of the game because they tried to make a mound visit and didn't have any left 😬

i mean they keep track right there on the scoreboard pic.twitter.com/cY7dYrovPU

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 17, 2024

As a result, the Rays had to go to veteran swingman Erasmo Ramirez with two outs and two on in the ninth. Ramirez was able to retire Romy Gonzalez, who had beaten the Rays on a walk-off single just two nights earlier. For Ramirez, it was his first save of the year and just the fifth of his career, which goes back to 2012.

Ramirez has been well-traveled in his career, playing for the Seattle Mariners, Rays, Red Sox, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers, and Washington Nationals. He's had two different tenures with the Rays and owns a 42-45 career record.

I suppose this is a case "all's well that end's well," but it's a pretty big mistake from Cash and his coaching staff, who are known as one of the smartest and most progressive groups in all of baseball.

After the win, the Rays are now 23-22 on the season and in third place in the American League East. They'll continue divisional play with a matchup with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night. First pitch is 7:07 p.m. ET in Toronto.

Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.