ST. PETERSBURG -- Early on Tuesday night, the Rays’ offense resembled the one that scored just 14 runs during a forgettable 0-5 road trip. Tampa Bay hitters struck out five times in the first three frames, and there weren’t many deep counts against Boston starter Nathan Eovaldi.\n\nBut in the middle innings, things began to change for the Rays’ offense, showing glimpses of the team that was a trendy preseason pick to dethrone the Yankees in the American League East.\n\nWith some help from the B-ring catwalk at Tropicana Field to keep his at-bat alive,
After a winless road trip that ended with a head-scratching sweep against the rebuilding Orioles, Tampa Bay players said they were optimistic that Monday's off-day would help them mentally. That appeared to be the case.\n\nThe five runs the Rays scored were the most since the club scored five on July 28 against the Braves. The nine hits were also the most by Tampa Bay since finishing with 13 during the 14-run outburst against Atlanta on July 27. Renfroe's two-run double in the fourth allowed the Rays' offense to relax.
\"It was good, because the inning before, Jackie Bradley Jr. made a really nice play that kind of left us in confusion. … It was a little deflating,\" Rays manager Kevin Cash said. \"But Hunter comes right back up and relaxes the situation with a big hit.\"\n\nHaving Meadows at the top of the lineup also helped the Rays' offense -- and the entire team -- relax. After missing the first 10 games due to a positive COVID-19 test, Meadows returned to the lineup and went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.
\"I was just trying to do what I did last year,\" Meadows said. \"It's been like 10 months since I played an actual Major League game that counts, so it's just good to be back out there with the guys and contribute like I did was the cherry on top.\"\n\nWhile the offense showed improvement on Tuesday, the Rays were also encouraged with Morton's performance. Morton came into the start against the Red Sox with an 8.00 ERA in his first two starts and hadn't looked sharp, particularly with his fastball velocity.
\n\nThrough two starts, Morton's four-seamer averaged 92.2 mph, which is significantly lower than the 94.7 average he had a season ago. Morton's fastball velocity averaged 94.3 mph in the first inning and finished at 93.1 mph over his 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball. He scattered five hits and fanned five to lower his ERA to 5.52.\n\n\"I'm glad I got the opportunity to go out there for that sixth up,\" Morton said. \"That's what I was hoping for, just to get a chance to get that sixth up and get my pitch count up a little bit more. That was pretty much what my goal was, and we achieved that.\"
While the Rays know they still have work to do in order to better position themselves to compete in the division, Tuesday's performance was a big step in the right direction. The atmosphere in the dugout was energetic and the club appeared to be loose as opposed to pressing like it did during the road trip.\n\n\"You gotta snap that five-game losing streak, that's not good right now,\" said