Trevor Story knocked in the go-ahead run in Boston’s three-run ninth inning as the Red Sox crafted their eighth straight win over Tampa Bay, doubling the host Rays 6-3 on Saturday night.
Tied three-all, Story put Boston ahead by singling in Ceddanne Rafaela, who reached on Junior Caminero’s second fielding error, for a 4-3 lead off reliever Jesse Scholtens (0-1).
Masataka Yoshida (single) and Romy Gonzalez (sacrifice fly) drove in runs for the three-run lead as the Red Sox (85-70) moved to 10-2 against the Rays (75-80).
Gonzalez was 2-for-2 with a run, RBI and stolen base plus a walk and a hit by pitch. Alex Bregman had two hits, and Rafaela scored twice.
Garrett Whitlock (7-3) was credited with the win. Aroldis Chapman notched his 31st save.
In his first start with the Red Sox, Kyle Harrison gave up one run on four hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked two.
Tampa Bay’s Jake Mangum was 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Yandy Diaz was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.
Starter Adrian Houser yielded three runs on five hits in six innings. The right-hander had two strikeouts, three walks, a hit batter and two wild pitches.
The visitors used their feet to go up 1-0 in the third after Jarren Duran’s one-out single. The speedster stole his 24th base then scored when Houser spiked two wild pitches into the dirt and to the backstop.
In the fourth, Mangum doubled to left to score Brandon Lowe, who earlier had singled, to even it, but Bregman made it 2-1 by lining a single to center to send home Rafaela.
Boston took a 3-1 lead in the sixth by manufacturing a run without a hit after leadoff batter Gonzalez was hit by a Houser pitch. He promptly stole second, was bunted to third by Nate Eaton and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nathaniel Lowe.
In the seventh with Harrison out, the Rays tied it off relievers Justin Wilson and Justin Slaten on Nick Fortes’ RBI double and Diaz’s run-scoring single.
–Field Level Media
