BOSTON — The All-Star break truly couldn’t have come soon enough for the Rays, who staggered and stumbled through the last three weeks to get there Sunday afternoon with a 4-1 loss to the Red Sox.
That made it four straight defeats to the red-hot Sox, eight in 10 games on a trip that also included stops in Minnesota and Detroit, and 12 in the 16 games since they completed a three-game sweep of the Royals on June 26.
The Rays walked happily out of Kauffman Stadium that afternoon with a 46-35 record, a half-game behind the Yankees in the American League East and holding the top AL wild-card spot by 2½ games.
When they trudged out of Fenway Park Sunday, they were 50-47, fourth in the East, six games behind the division-leading Blue Jays, and no longer in the three-team wild-card field, 1½ games behind the Mariners.
The Rays can only hope the time off before resuming play Friday at home against the Orioles can do them some good.
“Take the days off, take them for what they are, regroup mentally and physically, and then continue to stay positive and continue to go one day at a time. That’s all we can do,” said rookie outfielder Chandler Simpson.
“I feel like it couldn’t come at a better time. I feel like I have no doubt we’re going to turn it around.”
Junior Caminero, who will spend the first part of his break in Atlanta with fellow All-Stars Jonathan Aranda, injured Brandon Lowe and Drew Rasmussen, also said he felt the Rays would benefit from the chance to regroup.
“We need a mental break, and we also need to relax, have a couple days off,” Caminero said via team interpreter Eddie Rodriguez. “But I think we’re going to come back from this. We are a very good team, and people are going to continue to talk about us in a positive way. I think we’re going to come back strong in the second half.”
The Rays have no choice but to think that after the rough stretch that saw them give back much of the ground they gained during a 25-9 nearly six-week run as the majors’ best team.
Most of their shortcomings were typical — quiet days at the plate, an occasional bad start, some misplays in the field.
But there also was some incendiary work by their relievers.
Asked before Sunday’s game what his team needed to do better or differently after the break, manager Kevin Cash was quick to answer: “Pitch better out of the bullpen.”
As if things weren’t bad enough for the Rays, Sunday’s loss included a trio of unfortunate events that cost them runs.
Simpson, the speedy rookie who has been a weapon on the bases, made a mental error that kept the Rays from taking a third-inning lead.
He was on second and Aranda on first with two outs when Yandy Diaz laced a line drive. Red Sox centerfielder Ceddanne Rafaela dove, and Simpson — thinking the ball had been caught — slowed up after rounding third.
On-deck hitter Jake Mangum yelled, “Go! Go! Go!” and pointed for Simpson to run home, but by the time he did Aranda had been thrown out at third, negating Simpson’s potential run.
“Really just made a mistake,” Simpson said. “I thought he caught the ball. Shouldn’t have assumed that. Should have just been running all the way through. That’s my game, to be running hard, and I wasn’t there. Now I learned my lesson. … It won’t happen again.”
A mistake, or at least a misstep, by Caminero gave the Sox a 1-0 lead in the third. Catcher Matt Thaiss made a strong throw to third to pick off Marcelo Mayer but Caminero was called for obstructing Mayer’s path to the base, sending Mayer home.
“I just went in the direction of the ball,” Caminero said. “It wasn’t nothing purposely. The throw was [what] put me in that position. … I wasn’t trying to block the base. I was just trying to put myself in position to catch the ball.”
The Rays were hanging on to a 1-1 tie in the sixth when starter Ryan Pepiot had one on and two out. He gave up a single to Trevor Story, scoring one run, then — on a 3-2 pitch — an arcing fly ball to Rafaela that hit the ledge on the front of the top of the Green Monster in left-centerfield and bounced over the wall for a two-run homer.
A sign of how bad things are going?
“I mean, I guess,’’ Pepiot said. “It doesn’t matter. [The] ball still went over the fence. … If I get him out and we stay 2-1, there’s way more momentum rather than going to their side. So, it’s on me. I’ll take the blame on that one. Just got to be better.”
Pepiot said a few days off, and watching their teammates in the All-Star Game, will be a good thing.
“You go 2-8 on a road trip, kind of want to get away from it a little bit,” he said. “Just go home, relax. We played 90-something games already. First half’s done. Still above .500, still in the mix of everything. We’re not that far out of the division. We’re not that far out … of a playoff spot.
“We’re still playing meaningful baseball, and we still have a lot of baseball to play. You can’t dwell too much on the past two-three weeks because the six weeks prior to that was just absolutely unbelievable. …
“Enjoy the break. … Go home, rest, relax, recover,” Pepiot continued. “Take a few days, whatever you guys need. And be ready to rock and roll next Friday.”
