Aug 13, 2020 3 min read

Hunter Renfroe hit two homers and drove in three runs, Mike Zunino belted a three-run shot over the Green Monster and out of Fenway Park and the surging Tampa Bay Rays beat the struggling Boston Red Sox 17-5 on Thursday to complete a four-game series sweep.

It was the sixth straight win for the Rays (12-8), who posted their eighth consecutive victory in Fenway. Tampa Bay won for the 12th time in its last 14 games against Boston.

Brandon Lowe added a solo homer during a five-run third inning that chased starter Kyle Hart (0-1), who was making his major-league debut.

Manuel Margot had his second four-hit game of the series, Willy Adames had three hits and two RBIs, and Yoshi Tsutsugo had two hits and two RBIs for the Rays, who posted season-highs in runs and hits (19). Zunino drove in four runs.

The Rays-Red Sox game at Fenway Park on Thursday was delayed for about four minutes in the top of the third inning by a drone flying outside the park beyond the right-field bleachers.

National League

N.Y. Mets 8, Washington 2: Tomas Nido had his first two-homer game as a professional, hitting a two-run shot in the fourth inning and a grand slam in the fifth to lead the New York Mets to an 8-2 win over the Washington Nationals and a split of the four-game series.

Nido, who entered Thursday with five homers and 26 RBIs over 93 games in parts of four big league seasons, is just the fifth catcher in Mets history to hit at least two homers and collect at least six RBI in a game. Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Mike Piazza did it twice apiece and Todd Hundley and Paul Lo Duca once each.

Nationals star Stephen Strasburg earned one of baseball’s most unique ejections in the third inning.

Strasburg was sitting in Section 121 at Citi Field in this socially distant season because he’s scheduled to start Friday against Baltimore Orioles. He was apparently unhappy with the strike zone of plate umpire Carlos Torres after Austin Voth’s 2-2 pitch to Pete Alonso on the outside corner was ruled a ball.

Moments later, Torres ejected last year’s World Series MVP, though it took a few seconds to realize who had been tossed.

Someone was heard yelling: “You’re (expletive) brutal” shortly before television cameras captured Strasburg doffing his cap as he walked up the staircase on his way out of the park.

New York Mets left fielder Jeff McNeil was carted off the field Thursday after crashing into the left field wall in the first inning to rob the Washington Nationals’ Asdrubal Cabrera of a two-run extra-base hit.

McNeil, a natural infielder who has been manning both outfielder corners for the Mets since last year, raced at full speed to the warning track and made an impressive lunging catch for the final out of the inning. He crashed into the wall with both arms extended and raised his glove hand as he fell to indicate he had the ball.

But McNeil was in obvious pain as he covered his eyes with both hands and yelled before flinging his glove off. He briefly tried getting up but only made it a few steps with a trainer and manager Luis Rojas before sitting back down.