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,

Quinn Priester limited the visiting Tampa Bay Rays to one run on four hits in five innings Sunday to help the Boston Red Sox avoid a three-game sweep with a 3-1 victory in the final game of the season for each team.

The Red Sox finished the season with a record of 81-81, missing the playoffs for the third straight year for the first time since 2010-12.