The Boston Red Sox continue to struggle on their home turf, falling 8-4 to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday and dropping to a disappointing 6-11 at Fenway Park this season. With the loss, the Sox now sit at 16-22 overall, while the red-hot Rays improved to an impressive 25-12.

Rookie pitcher Jake Bennett took the mound for just his second major league start, showing flashes of promise but ultimately taking the loss. The young right-hander worked 5⅓ innings, surrendering four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out one. Bennett threw 52 of his 86 pitches for strikes (60.5%), but managed only five swings and misses—three on his changeup and two on his four-seam fastball, which averaged 92.1 mph.

The bullpen didn't provide much relief. Reliever Greg Weissert continues to struggle, entering with one out in the sixth inning and a runner on first. He allowed a soft bloop single (just 59.7 mph off the bat) to Jonny DeLuca, walked Ben Williamson to load the bases, then gave up a two-run single to pinch-hitter Chandler Simpson through a drawn-in infield. Weissert now owns a 5.52 ERA and a .311 opponent batting average over 17 appearances (14⅔ innings).

On a brighter note, rookie left-handed reliever Tyler Samaniego continues to shine, extending his scoreless streak to 13⅔ innings. He entered with runners on first and second and one out, calmly getting Cedric Mullins to pop out and Taylor Walls to fly out to left field.

The game also featured a costly baserunning mistake in the eighth inning. After Jarren Duran led off with a bloop double, Willson Contreras crushed a 111.9 mph single to left field. But as the left fielder fired home, Contreras tried to advance to second base while Duran held at third. Catcher Hunter Feduccia had plenty of time to receive the throw and gun down Contreras at second. Boston managed just one run in the inning.

The Red Sox will look to bounce back Friday against the Rays at Fenway Park, with the over/under currently set at 8.5 total runs.