FINAL May 8, 2026
May 8, 2026 · AL East

Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox

May 8, 2026Fenway ParkClear 58°F · 5 mph, Out To RF
AWAY
Tampa Bay Rays
25-13
0
vs
HOME
Boston Red Sox
17-22
2

Starting pitchers

AWAY · TB
Jesse Scholtens
Jesse Scholtens
IP 4.2
HOME · BOS
Connelly Early
Connelly Early
IP 7

Lineups

AWAY · TB
  1. 1 Yandy Díaz DH
  2. 2 Ryan Vilade RF
  3. 3 Junior Caminero 3B
  4. 4 Jonathan Aranda 1B
  5. 5 Jonny DeLuca CF
  6. 6 Ben Williamson 2B
  7. 7 Chandler Simpson LF
  8. 8 Nick Fortes C
  9. 9 Taylor Walls SS
HOME · BOS
  1. 1 Jarren Duran LF
  2. 2 Willson Contreras 1B
  3. 3 Wilyer Abreu RF
  4. 4 Masataka Yoshida DH
  5. 5 Trevor Story SS
  6. 6 Ceddanne Rafaela CF
  7. 7 Marcelo Mayer 2B
  8. 8 Carlos Narváez C
  9. 9 Caleb Durbin 3B

Box score

  123456789 R
TB 000000000 0
BOS 001100000 2

Manager comparison

Both managers grade B- / C- entering this matchup.

AWAY · TB
Kevin Cash
B- Lineup 0.9 R Bunts 2.4 R IBBs 2.1 R
HOME · BOS
Chad Tracy
C- Lineup 2.8 R Bunts 0.1 R IBBs 0.2 R Interim

Recent form

AWAY · TB
8-2 L1 +17 run diff
LWWWWWWWLW
HOME · BOS
5-5 W1 -3 run diff
WLWWWLLWLL

Season series: 1-1 with TB listed first across 2 prior meetings.

Tactical analysis

RunsLeft separates manager decisions from player execution from game variance. Each card below is the same three-number framework that drives the share cards on the SPA replay page.

AWAY · Tampa Bay Rays
  • Manager lineup cost −0.04 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 3.44 vs actual lineup 3.48
  • Player execution −3.48 R/G Players fell 3.48 short of the lineup's 3.48 projection (scored 0)
  • Game variance −3.44 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Díaz 0-for-3 batting 1st

HOME · Boston Red Sox
  • Manager lineup cost −0.06 R/G Optimal arrangement projects 3.39 vs actual lineup 3.46
  • Player execution −1.46 R/G Players fell 1.46 short of the lineup's 3.46 projection (scored 2)
  • Game variance −1.39 R/G Total game outcome vs optimal expectation

Yoshida 0-for-4 batting 4th

COUNTERFACTUAL

Optimal lineups projected 3.4 – 3.4 — actual was 0 – 2.

GAME INSIGHTS

Keep reading

How RunsLeft analyzes games

Standard content on this page comes from the MLB Stats API. Tactical analysis comes from a per-game Monte Carlo: 10,000 simulated games against the opposing starter's ERA, both for the actual lineup the manager wrote and for the optimal arrangement of those nine players. The three numbers — manager cost, player execution, game variance — separate which part of the result was the lineup, the players, or the dice.

Read the full methodology.