Contreras goes deep, Suarez wins a dugout bet, but Boston strands the tying run in the ninth.
Spring training doesn’t always deliver tension in the ninth inning.
Sunday did.
The Red Sox put the potential tying run on second base with nobody out in the bottom of the ninth against the Orioles - and couldn’t move him.
Pinch runner Braiden Ward stayed put as three straight outs sealed an 8-7 loss at JetBlue Park, dropping Boston to 5-4 this spring.
It was the kind of finish that felt meaningful in the moment and fleeting in the big picture.
March baseball in a nutshell.
Suarez Wins Inning…and Maybe Dinner?
Before the late drama, Ranger Suarez provided one of the afternoon’s better storylines.
When he returned to the dugout after the second inning, he was at 34 pitches - 11 shy of his 45-pitch limit.
Alex Cora offered a friendly challenge:
Get through the third inning in 11 pitches or fewer, and dinner was on him.
Suarez needed exactly 11.
He navigated the inning efficiently, capped his day by striking out Blaze Alexander with a sharp slider on his 45th pitch, and walked off smiling.
Cora, of course, disputed the math afterward.
“No, no, I do not [owe him], because it was 10 pitches in that inning and he threw 11,” he said postgame.
Suarez, via his interpreter, maintained his version - and joked that if there is a dinner, it should be an expensive one.
Beyond the wager, it was a solid outing.
Suarez allowed one run over three innings, giving up two hits, no walks and striking out two while throwing 29 of 45 pitches for strikes. He limited second-inning damage with three consecutive groundouts after allowing two runners into scoring position.
It marked his final tune-up before joining Team Venezuela for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), a tournament he said he’s eager to embrace.
Feb 17, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) poses for a photo during media day at JetBlue Park. (Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images)Contreras Keeps Showing the Power:
If Suarez supplied the rhythm, Willson Contreras supplied the thunder.
The first baseman went 2-for-2 with a double off the Green Monster and a 426-foot three-run homer that cleared it entirely.
Both balls were pulled to left, offering a preview of how his power could play at Fenway Park.
“But it also can be a trap,” Contreras said postgame. “If you start looking to hit the ball over the Green Monster, you might start missing some pitches that are hittable.”
Through the first week of spring action, Contreras is batting .426 with a 1.563 OPS before departing to join Venezuela for the WBC.
Caleb Durbin added two hits and an RBI double. Kristian Campbell went 1-for-3 but was robbed of extra bases on a 106.9-mph line drive tracked down in deep right.
Feb 22, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox infielder Caleb Durbin (17) hits an RBI single during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. (Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images)Bullpen Work in Progress:
The afternoon wasn’t as clean for the bullpen.
Aroldis Chapman struck out the first batter he faced, but allowed a walk and a single before exiting after 18 pitches.
Justin Slaten struck out his first hitter, then struggled with command and a throwing error that helped open the door to a three-run line in two-thirds of an inning.
Cora wasn’t concerned.
“Chappy was working on his slider, Slaten the usual,” he said postgame. “Honestly, I don’t pay too much attention to that, as long as they’re healthy and their stuff looks good, it doesn’t matter the results.”
That’s the spring refrain:
Process over box score.
Feb 26, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Aroldis Chapman (44) throws a pitch in the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. (Jim Rassol/Imagn Images)The Finish & What’s Next:
The Red Sox had their chance in the ninth.
They just didn’t capitalize.
It’s not the kind of loss that lingers in March, but the situational reps matter.
So do the individual building blocks - Suarez’s command, Contreras’ power, bullpen tweaks still in progress.
Next up, a road trip - by Florida standards - as some of the club heads 150 miles north to Dunedin to face the Blue Jays.
Johan Oviedo is set to start opposite Cody Ponce, with several relievers scheduled behind him.
Another day, another layer of evaluation.
And perhaps, eventually, a dinner bill to settle.
Feb 17, 2026; Lee County, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Johan Oviedo (29) poses for a photo during media day at JetBlue Park. (Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images)JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
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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.