Red Sox second-year catcher homers, Marcelo Mayer reaches base four times in latest Spring Training win for Boston
The Boston Red Sox picked up a narrow 7-6 Grapefruit League win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday afternoon, fueled by a handful of encouraging performances as spring training begins to wind down.
The biggest offensive highlight belonged to Carlos Narvaez, who delivered the decisive swing of the day with a three-run home run in the fifth inning. Narvaez’s first long ball of the spring came off Rays right-hander Trevor Martin and left the bat at 106.8 mph, traveling 408 feet to give Boston the lead after the club had just missed on an earlier scoring opportunity in the same inning.
Boston’s lineup produced contributions throughout the afternoon.
Marcelo Mayer turned in arguably his best performance of camp, reaching base in all four of his plate appearances with two singles and two walks. The young infielder also added an RBI single earlier in the game, bouncing back a day after an 0-for-4 showing with two strikeouts.
Feb 27, 2025; Lakeland, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez (75) bats during the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. (Mike Watters/Imagn Images)Meanwhile, Caleb Durbin stayed hot with a pair of doubles as part of a three-hit day, while Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nate Eaton also chipped in multi-hit performances.
On the mound, Johan Oviedo delivered a start that featured both promise and a few bumps along the way. The right-hander opened the game in dominant fashion, striking out the first four hitters he faced and punching out the side in the first inning. But after that early burst, Oviedo ran into some trouble as he worked deeper into the outing.
The 28-year-old ultimately allowed two runs on three hits and three walks across 3.1 innings while finishing with 5 strikeouts. He threw 64 pitches in the outing, 36 of them for strikes, and generated 5 swinging strikes as he continues to build toward the regular season.
Boston will now turn its attention to tonight, when the club travels to face the Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park.
Brayan Bello, recently back with the team after pitching in the World Baseball Classic, is scheduled to start for the Red Sox and said he expects to throw roughly 70 pitches as he ramps up for Opening Day.
Mar 9, 2026; Miami, FL, United States; Dominican Republic pitcher Brayan Bello (66) delivers a pitch against Israel during the first inning at LoanDepot Park. (Sam Navarro/Imagn Images)JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Remember to join our RED SOX on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Red Sox fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Tom Carroll is a contributor for Roundtable, with boots-on-the-ground coverage of all things Boston sports. He's a senior digital content producer for WEEI.com, and a native of Lincoln, RI.