Rays' Taj Bradley caps season with strong outing in win over Red Sox

BOSTON — Taj Bradley walked off the mound after his last pitch of the 2024 season with a smile Friday night.

Technically, that was because of how he made the final out of the sixth inning, falling down as he grabbed Connor Wong’s grounder and, from a seated position on the mound, threw to first.

But Bradley has bigger reasons to be happy, as he capped his season with a second straight strong outing, throwing six shutout innings in the Rays’ 2-1 win over the Red Sox.

That gave Bradley back-to-back wins, and the opportunity to go into the offseason in better spirits, after a rough nine-start stretch in which he went 0-7 with a 7.88 ERA. That followed a dazzling nine-start run in which he was 5-1, 0.82.

Overall, Bradley, 23, finished his second major league season with an 8-11 record and 4.11 ERA. As a rookie in 2023, he was 5-8, 5.59.

Bradley on Friday allowed only three hits, plus a walk and a hit batter, and struck out seven. He had only one real jam, with runners on first and third with one out in the third, then got Trevor Story to ground into a double play.

The win improved the Rays to 79-81, keeping alive their chance with two games remaining to finish 81-81 and avoid their first losing season since 2017.

The Rays got their runs in the seventh. Josh Lowe drove in the first with a double that ended starter Nick Pivetta’s night and scored the other when reliever Zach Penrod loaded the bases by walking Richie Palacios and hitting Jose Caballero, then walked pinch-hitter Christopher Morel.

Rays reliever Colin Poche allowed a run in the Sox’s seventh, then Manny Rodriguez and Edwin Uceta finished.

Miscellany

Tropicana Field and the Port Charlotte spring complex escaped major damage from Hurricane Helene. ... Shane Baz starts for the Rays on Saturday against Boston’s Kutter Crawford. ... Kevin Kelly’s 23 1/3-inning scoreless streak is the longest active such streak in the majors.