Vaughn Grissom had an RBI double and scored a run to help Boston beat Tampa Bay 3-1 in the teams’ season finales, earning the Red Sox third place ahead of the Rays in the AL East.

Preview the Rays vs. Red Sox game today, with score predictions, stats, starting pitchers and game information.

Rays starter Taj Bradley hurled a gem in the series opener, throwing six shutout innings as the Red Sox bats fell silent in a 2-1 defeat. Josh Lowe made the difference, smacking an RBI double and later coming around to score as the Rays put chased Nick Pivetta in the seventh inning. Pivetta is due to hit free agency at the end of the season.

As promising as the Red Sox have looked at times, and as much progress as their young players have made, the club ultimately hasn’t been able to escape the gravitational pull of .500. Fittingly, the Red Sox concluded what has been a thoroughly middling season in middling fashion,

The Red Sox finished 81-81, missing the playoffs for the third straight year for the first time since 2010-12. The Rays ended 80-82, halting a stretch of five consecutive seasons going to the