After giving up 10 home runs in five starts between July 24-Aug. 20, Nick Pivetta had been keeping opposing batters quiet; he’d allowed one home run over his previous three starts.

Then, the right-hander took the mound at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night and matched his season-high three homers, paving the way for the Rays to win 8-3 and push the Red Sox under .500 for the first time since June 11.

“Tough one all around,” manager Alex Cora told reporters. “We didn’t make pitches early on… Not much traffic on the bases.”

Early on, it looked as though the Red Sox might hit a much-needed reset after their 1-3 weekend at Yankee Stadium. Triston Casas gave Boston an early 2-0 lead with a home run in the top of the second, and Pivetta, who’s pitched well against American League East foes throughout the season, cruised through the first three innings of his 24th start.

In the bottom of the fourth, the worm turned in Tampa Bay’s favor. Pivetta, 31, had yielded just one hit when Junior Caminero led off the inning with a home run, getting the Rays on the board 2-1.

The Red Sox right-hander was able to prolong, but not avoid further damage. Josh Lowe led off the bottom of the fifth with a game-tying solo homer, the beginning of an inning in which all nine Rays batters came to the plate and collected three home runs, two doubles, and took a 5-2 lead.

Pivetta was able to get José Caballero and Logan Driscoll out. After striking out Driscoll, however, Pivetta immediately grabbed his shoulder. Alex Cora and a trainer came out to look at him, but the righty insisted he was able to stay in the game, even refusing the home-plate umpire’s offer to throw a warm-up pitch.

“Just think it cramped up a little bit but I was able to kind of calm it down,” Pivetta told reporters after the game. “I should be fine.”

José Siri promptly took Pivetta deep for a 3-2 Rays lead. When Yandy Diaz followed with a double, Cora pulled his starter. Over 4 ⅔ innings, Pivetta allowed four earned runs on five hits, issued zero walks, and struck out six. He threw 83 pitches, 57 for strikes, and induced 15 swings-and-misses.

Despite the shoulder issue, Pivetta and Cora each expressed confidence that he’d be ready to make his next start. The long ball, however, has been an issue throughout the campaign: he’s allowed 28 homers this season, tied for fourth among MLB pitchers.

Bailey Horn fared no better. The lefty filled up the three-batter minimum by giving up a two-run homer to Brandon Lowe, a double to Caminero, and walked Jonathan Aranda before Cora was able to make another pitching change.

Josh Winckowski pitched the rest of the way.

The top of the Red Sox lineup responded to the Rays’ barrage by going in order for the fourth time in six innings.

“We hit the ball hard today,” Cora said. “I think the approach was good.”

Rays starter Shane Baz ended up getting the Red Sox 1-2-3 five of his seven frames. He held Boston to two earned runs on two hits, one walk, and struck out six.

There were flashes of life in the top of the eighth. Stepping up to the plate in Casas’ stead, Romy Gonzalez hit his AL-leading third pinch-hit home run of the season. Boston’s first hit since Wilyer Abreu’s leadoff single in the fifth, it pulled the Red Sox within two runs. Gonzalez is the first Red Sox hitter with as many as three pinch-hit homers since Christian Vázquez in 2019 (Joe Cronin holds the club record with five in 1943).

The Red Sox almost went in order after Gonzalez, but the Rays gifted them an opportunity. Jarren Duran’s strikeout should’ve ended the inning, but instead, he was able to reach on a passed ball. This brought the tying run to the plate in Rafael Devers, who’d made franchise history at the Trop earlier in the season when he’d become the first Red Sox player to homer in six consecutive games. On Tuesday night, however, the struggling slugger struck out.

The Red Sox wouldn’t get another baserunner. The Rays then opened the bottom of the eighth with three consecutive singles to load the bases. Winckowski battled valiantly to get two outs, but was unable to complete a Houdini act. Siri blooped a bases-clearing double to shallow left, where Tyler O’Neill laid out to grab the shot, but missed by inches.

After that, the Red Sox went quickly and quietly. When Connor Wong ground out to end the contest, he cemented an 0-for-20 night for the top five batters in the Boston lineup.

It’s been exactly one year and one day since the 2023 Red Sox fell to 74-75 and sank under the .500 waters for good. During a four-game series with the Yankees, they dropped from fourth in the division to fifth, and stayed there until season’s end.

But this year was supposed to be different. The Red Sox went into the All-Star break holding a Wild Card and in striking distance of the division title. Cora said they were going to “get greedy” and go for the AL East.

Since the break, the Red Sox are a shell of their early-summer selves. The bullpen implodes on a near nightly-basis, the offense has shriveled up. Ironically, the starting rotation, which garnered the most criticism entering spring training (due to lack of spending), has been the least of their worries. Even their road success has evaporated; they’re 1-9 in their last 10 road games.

At this point, “greedy” would be finishing with a winning record, and not in last place in the AL East.

Neither are guaranteed for this Red Sox team. Five of their remaining 11 games are against the Rays – including the final weekend of the season – and despite being major sellers at the trade deadline, the Rays looked like the superior team on the mound and at the plate on Tuesday night.

“It sucks,” Cora said of falling under .500. “It’s just not happening for us right now.”

If the Red Sox can’t make it happen, they’ll find themselves in an even worse position by series’ end: they’re 75-76 and the Rays are 74-77.

Forget the third Wild Card. The Red Sox have to find a way to stay in third place in their division.