Paxton is out with right knee inflammation and Nick Pivetta will take his spot in the rotation.

Boston finishes with 23 hits, including five by Wilyer Abreu, but leaves the potential tying run at third base in the ninth.

Commentary: Time is running out for the Red Sox to make a playoff push, and playing hard is not enough to rise up in the standings.

Boston ties it in the seventh and takes the lead in the 11th, before Tampa Bay wins, 8-6, on Brandon Lowe’s three-run home run.

Triston Casas hits a three-run home run and Boston ends a 13-game losing streak at the home of the Rays with a 7-3 win.

Masataka Yoshida breaks out of a slump with a big hit in support of Chris Sale, who pitches five scoreless innings in a 7-3 win over the Royals.

Alex Verdugo finishes a home run shy of a cycle, and Triston Casas homers in Boston’s 9-5 win over Kansas City.

Boston has a day off after playing for 16 straight days, and heads to the final 28 games with a slim chance of making the playoffs.

The Red Sox lose for the fifth time in six games and are fifth in the race for the three AL wild-card berths.