Grapefruit League Recap (GM #2): Rays @ Red Sox

The Rays fell in their first televised game of the spring this afternoon (broadcast on NESN), 6-7, in a walk-off fashion.

In terms of base hits, it was a quiet day for the bunch, only grabbing 4 hits on the day, with 2 of them coming from the starters for the Rays.

The big tally on the board was the moonshot grand slam on the mini-Green Monster in left at JetBlue Park by Osleivis Basabe, who came in at 2B this afternoon for the Rays.

However, it was another pitcher-dominated day for the club after this game, as fans saw Taj Bradley for the first time in big league spring training. 

Bradley, who sits as the top man in the Rays system, had a clean inning of work to his credit today, allowing no runs or hits in the start and getting through a solid top part of the order in Casas, Devers, and Turner, all of whom should be starting on Opening Day for Boston.

Other notable notes to take away are the Rays' strikeout numbers as a unit, striking out 12 batters this afternoon with players such as Colten Brewer and Ben Heller both grabbing 2 or more strikeouts in their time out of the pen.

As a whole, it wasn't a game where the hitting impressed, although something to watch heading into the game was seeing that big prospect hit, but you definitely have to like what you see early from the Rays staff, creating what should be some difficult decisions come the end of March once camps break if this staff can pitch the way they have been playing.

The Rays will try to get their first win in Grapefruit League play tomorrow afternoon, as the team moves closer to Orlando with a game against the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota before their opener in Orlando on Tuesday. 

According to Marc Topkin, he expects to see "Wander Franco" and others in the game tomorrow, maybe a much-needed revamp in what is the final game on this three-game road slate to start out the spring.