Members of the Boston Red Sox celebrate their win after the game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox at Estadio Quisqueya on Sunday, March 10, 2024 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – In the final game of the 2024 Dominican Republic Series on Sunday, in front of 11,418 fans at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal, the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-6 and swept their two-game series.
The Red Sox are 10-6 in the Grapefruit League during spring training and are in second place, while the Rays are 4-9 in the Grapefruit League and are in last place.
In the top of the third inning, the Rays got on the board first when Jonathan Aranda reached on a throwing error by Red Sox second baseman David Hamilton and Francisco Mejia came in to score the first run of the game.
The next batter, Randy Arozarena, lifted a sacrifice fly to left field and center fielder Jonny DeLuca came in to score to extend the lead to 2-0.
During the top of the fourth inning, Richie Palacios cranked a solo home run that sliced around the right field foul pole off Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock to make it 3-0 Rays.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Red Sox second baseman David Hamilton drew a bases-loaded walk that scored first baseman Tristian Casas to cut the deficit to 3-1.
During the bottom of the fifth, the Red Sox made it a one-run game when center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela launched a solo home run over the left center field wall to make it 3-2.
The Rays extended their lead in the top of the sixth inning with second baseman Curtis Mead hitting a solo home run over the left field wall, his first of the spring, which made it 4-2. A few batters later, Aranda doubled to left field, scoring Mejia to make it 5-2.
The Red Sox scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, which was capped off with a Bobby Dalbec grand slam over the left field fence for 7-5 Sox lead.
Red Sox relief pitcher Joely Rodriguez closed out the game, keeping the one-run lead in the top of the ninth inning, and got Mead to ground into a fielder’s choice that ended the game to beat Tampa Bay 7-6 in the final exhibition game series.
Whitlock threw 3.1 innings with 50 pitches, allowing three hits, two earned runs, one walk, and one strikeout during Sunday’s win.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora’s pitching staff allowed 12 hits, five earned runs, three walks, and six strikeouts in the two game exhibition series sweep.
Rays starting pitcher Aaron Civale threw 3.1 innings with 63 pitches and allowed three hits, one earned run, one walk and two strikeouts during Sunday’s loss.
Rays manager Kevin Cash’s pitching staff threw eight innings and allowed six hits, seven earned runs, eight walks, and struck out 11 batters in Sunday’s loss.
Tampa Bay and Boston split being the home and road teams at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal during the two-game series. The Rays were the home team on Saturday and the Red Sox were the home team Sunday afternoon.
The Dominican Republic has never hosted an MLB regular-season game, even though it has been home to various baseball training programs through all 30 MLB organizations, with teams building academies to train players in the country since 1985.
Previously, the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers played at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal on March 7, 2020. The Houston Astros and Red Sox also played split-squad games during spring training in the Dominican Republic in 2000. The New York Mets and Montreal Expos played in a two-game exhibition series in 1999 at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal on March 12 and March 13.
Earlier, the Houston Astros and New York Yankees played in two games in Santo Domingo and La Romana on March 29 and 30 prior to the start of the 1984 regular season. During spring training in the 1977 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers played the New York Mets in two games in the Dominican Republic with one game at Estadio Cibao in Santiago on March 19 and at Estadio Quisqueya Juan Marichal on March 20.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement from the Major League Baseball Players Association will expire after the 2026 regular season, and the Dominican Republic could possibly host an MLB regular season game at some point down the line if the players’ union and MLB owners of all 30 organizations can agree to having the Caribbean country host games.
Tampa Bay has played twice in exhibition games prior to the MLB World Tour Dominican Republic Series. The Rays played against the Atlanta Braves on March 19, 2000 at Estadio Universitario in Caracas, Venezuela and played the Cuban national team at Estadio Latinoamericano in Havana, Cuba on March 22, 2016.
Boston last played overseas in London, England, against their rival the New York Yankees in a two game series that was from June 29-30 during the 2019 regular season at London Stadium.
The MLB World Tour will have three more events for the 2024 regular season.
The San Diego Padres will open up the 2024 regular season in Seoul, South Korea, against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Gocheok Sky Dome from March 20-21 with all their two games starting at 6:05 a.m. EDT. The Padres will be the home team on March 20 and the Dodgers will be the home team on March 21.
The Houston Astros will face off against the Colorado Rockies in Mexico City, Mexico, at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú from April 27-28. The Mexico City Series will have their first game at 6:05 p.m. EDT on April 27 and the second game will be at 4:05 p.m. EDT on April 28. The Rockies will be the home team for both games in Mexico City.
The New York Mets will take on their division rival the Philadelphia Phillies in London, England, from June 8-9 at London Stadium. The first game of the London Series will start at 1:10 p.m. EDT on June 8 and the final game will take place at 10:10 a.m. EDT on June 9. The Mets will be the home team on June 8 and the Phillies will be the home team on June 9 during both games in London.
The Red Sox will travel back to Fort Myers, Fla., to play the St. Louis Cardinals at home on March 12 at JetBlue Park at 1:05 p.m. EDT. The Red Sox will play their first game of the 2024 regular season against the Seattle Mariners on the road on March 28 at 10:10 p.m. EDT.
The Rays will play their division rival the Baltimore Orioles on the road on March 12 at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla. at 1:05 p.m. EDT. The Rays will open up the 2024 season against the Toronto Blue Jays at home on March 28 at 4:10 p.m. EDT.
Notebook: Ozzie Virgil Sr. was the first Dominican Republic born player to play in Major League Baseball and made his big league debut on Sept. 23, 1956 with the New York Giants. There have been 895 Dominican Republic born players that have played in Major League Baseball, and six who were managers at the Major League level. Felipe Alou managed for 14 years and was the first Dominican Republic born manager during his first managerial season in 1992 with the Montreal Expos and has the most wins with 1,033. Tony Pena managed for four MLB seasons from 2002-05 and helped the Dominican Republic national team win the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Pena is the only Latino manager to win an international senior event and manage at the Major League level. Manny Acta managed from 2007-12 and has the second most wins by any born Dominican Republic manager with 372. Luis Pujols, Luis Rojas, and Juan Samuel are the other Dominican Republic born managers that have managed at the MLB level. No Dominican Republic-born manager has won a World Series championship or has helped a team win an American League or National League Pennant. … Former MLB infielder Adrian Beltre was elected on his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot on January 23, 2024 and will be the fifth-born player from the Dominican Republic to enter the National Baseball of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. once he is inducted on July 21 at 1:30 p.m. EDT. Beltre received 95.1 percent of his votes during his first-year on the ballot. Beltre will join Juan Marichal, David Ortiz, Pedro Martinez and Vladimir Guerrero Sr. as the only born players from the Dominican Republic to be inducted into Cooperstown. The 2024 Hall of Fame class in July will also include Joe Mauer, Todd Helton and 1997 World Series and 2017 World Baseball Classic champion USA manager Jim Leyland.
Latin Players By Country In The National Baseball Hall of Fame
Dominican Republic – Juan Marichal (1983), Pedro Martinez (2015), Vladimir Guerrero Sr. (2018), David Ortiz (2022).
Panama – Rod Carew (1991), Mariano Rivera (2019).
Cuba – Martin Dihigo (1977), Tony Perez (2000), Jose Mendez (2006), Cristobal Torriente (2006)
Venezuela – Luis Aparicio (1984) .
Puerto Rico – Roberto Clemente (1973), Orlando Cepeda (2000), Roberto Alomar (2011), Ivan Rodriguez (2017), Edgar Martinez (2019).