What separates the Tampa Bay Rays from nearly every other major league club is that no matter how little they spend or how many players they put on the injured list, they manage to be a threat almost every year.

They reminded the league of that on Saturday when they demolished the visiting Red Sox 14-2 after their starter, Shane McClanahan, exited early with left-triceps tightness.

McClanahan was untouchable early on, getting the Red Sox in order in the first and working around a two-out double and a walk in the second, but after a pitch to Kristian Campbell in the top of the third – which he fouled back into home-plate umpire Jeremie Rehak’s mask – the Rays starter grimaced. His discomfort evident, McClanahan immediately gestured toward the Rays bench and removed himself from the game. The Rays are now at risk of losing their Opening Day starter, who will undergo imaging on Sunday; Rehak also left the game and was diagnosed with a concussion.

It was the ultimate ‘Thank goodness these games don’t count’ outing for Tanner Houck, whose final Grapefruit League start lasted just 3 ⅔ total innings over two stretches (spring training rules). After a 1-2-3 first inning, Tampa Bay tormented the Sox starter for the remainder of his time on the mound, charging him with 10 earned runs on 12 hits and two walks on approximately 85 pitches (MLB doesn’t track pitch count for every preseason game). He only struck out two of his 25 batters.

The Rays tallied five runs in the second, collecting four consecutive singles and a triple before Houck recorded the first out, an RBI-groundout. They scored in every inning thereafter and finished the day with 20 hits. Brandon Lowe led off the third with a home run to deep right – the only homer off Houck this spring – and a two-out double and back-to-back singles plated run No. 7. That was the first time manager Alex Cora walked out to the mound to collect him.

Houck returned for the fourth inning, but second time wasn’t the charm. The Rays again came through with some clutch two-out hitting, grabbing a single, walk, and RBI single to get an eighth run off the Red Sox righty. When the Rays opened the fifth with a leadoff single and walk, Cora pulled him for good.

Thus concludes a difficult preseason for Houck, who’s coming off a career-year and All-Star selection. Over four starts totaling 13 ⅔ innings, he pitched to a 11.20 ERA and 2.49 WHIP, giving up 17 earned runs and two unearned on 29 hits, five walks, and only striking out seven batters.

“Obviously, the results suck,” Houck told reporters, including MassLive’s Chris Cotillo. “I feel great. Physically (pitching coach Andrew) Bailey and I were talking in the dugout and everything’s up a little bit; velo, movement, it just comes down to executing a little bit finer. All in all, ready for the start of the season.”

Houck’s day done, the carnage continued. Taylor Walls greeted lefty reliever Brennan Bernadino with a first-pitch three-run homer, tacking two final runs onto Houck’s final line. Bernardino pitched the sixth as well, yielding another run before his outing was over. With a significantly larger lefty contingent in camp than in previous preseasons, a spot on the Opening Day roster is far from a sure thing. As of Saturday morning, three bullpen spots remained up for grabs.

Hours after Cora raved to reporters that righty Bryan Mata has “put himself on the map” by “throwing the (expletive) out of the ball,” the former top pitching prospect took a ride on the struggle bus. On the mound for the seventh, he loaded the bases on a pair of walks with a single in between. Holyoke, Mass. native Jamie Westbrook, who debuted with the Red Sox last season, singled on a pop-up to score the Rays’ 13th run. With a strikeout and double play, Mata was able to escape further damage.

Mata’s day was over after getting two outs and yielding a single in the eighth, but the Rays greeted Isaac Stebens in similarly aggressive fashion. A single and two walks forced in the baserunner Mata left behind for the 14th and final run.

The Boston bats went quietly into the late afternoon, collecting seven hits, six walks and striking out 10 times. They were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, leaving nine men on base.

A pair of solo first-pitch home runs by Wilyer Abreu and Kristian Campbell were the notable exceptions. It was each player’s first round-trippers of the preseason, an encouraging sign as Abreu missed most of the Grapefruit League schedule as he recovered from a viral gastrointestinal illness and Campbell is the frontrunner for the second-base job. It’s unlikely the Red Sox finalize their second-base plans until this week’s exhibition series in Mexico, but Saturday was another impressive all-around showing for Campbell, who hit leadoff and played another complete game at second. He drew a two-out walk to load the bases right before the Rays slammed the door in the top of the ninth. His home run was an opposite-field blast to deep right, close to the spot his Spring Breakout game homer landed last week.

The Red Sox are 15-10. Sunday’s final Grapefruit League game with the Minnesota Twins and the two exhibition games in Mexico are all that stand between them and the regular-season.

Boston may have a better chance at the division title this year now that Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is out for the entire season, but Saturday seemed to portend the American League East will still be more gauntlet than cake-walk. As the Red Sox were losing by a dozen, the Orioles wrapped up a combined no-hitter and the Blue Jays beat the Twins 2-1 to improve to a league-best 17-0 and clinch the ‘Golden Grapefruit.’

Masa in the Minors

Masataka Yoshida will begin the season on the injured list as he continues his throwing program, and there’s no timetable for his activation.

“We need him to play defense,” the Sox skipper told reporters on Saturday morning. “Probably he’s going to stay here for a week, go to the home opener and join Triple-A on April 1. They’ll be in Jacksonville.”

“He signed as an outfielder,” Cora added. “I’d be very comfortable, when he’s healthy, playing him in the outfield.”

It’s been a difficult year or so for Yoshida, who moved to the DH spot for the entire ‘24 season (save for one outfield appearance during the opening series) as he played through the shoulder ailment. He’s played 11 spring training games, but only as the DH. He’s hit .286 with a .686 OPS, 10 hits (one double, one home run), seven runs batted in, eight strikeouts and zero walks. Cora described his at-bats as “excellent.” Two teammates told the Herald he’s the best pure hitter on the team.

Yoshida’s timetable is fluid, though. The Red Sox can place him on a 20-day rehab assignment. Beyond that, as MLB.com’s Ian Browne noted, his contract stipulates that he must consent to being optioned to the Minors.

Extra innings

Brayan Bello threw 32 pitches (17 strikes) in a minor-league game on Saturday. He yielded one hit, two walks, and struck out two over 1 ⅔ innings, with his velocity ranging between 94-96 mph. … Veteran relievers Adam Ottavino and Matt Moore were informed they aren’t making the Opening Day roster, Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams reported.