Roman Anthony recorded a two-RBI double for the first hit of his major league career and Trevor Story went 2-for-4 with a homer to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 3-1 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays in the second of a three-game series on Tuesday night.
Anthony, who was playing in just his second career game following a Monday recall from Triple-A Worcester, lined an opposite-field double into the left-field corner to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the first inning that they would never relinquish.
Lucas Giolito (2-1) made the big hit stand up in his start for Boston, dealing six innings of three-hit ball over which he struck out four and allowed only one unearned run.
Story added a towering solo homer to left field in the sixth, breaking a string of 10 out of 11 retired by Tampa Bay starter Ryan Pepiot (3-6), who finished with nine strikeouts across 5 2/3 innings.
Tampa Bay was held to just three hits, with leadoff-hitting Yandy Diaz recording the lone RBI on a two-out single in the fifth. Back-to-back walks and an error brought Jose Caballero into scoring position, leading to the lone Rays run.
The Red Sox found the scoreboard almost right away in the first, as Devers lunged a single into shallow center and Narvaez ripped a two-out double inside the left-field line to set the table for Anthony’s milestone moment.
Giolito delivered a much-needed strong start, allowing single hits in the second, third and fifth innings. A 4-6-3 double play turned by Kristian Campbell and Story on the middle infield got Giolito through the third in the minimum three batters, and the Boston starter wound up retiring five of the last six he faced.
Anthony also made a gem of a defensive play in the sixth, sliding in right field to take a hit away from Jonathan Aranda and keep the score at 3-1.
The visitors were hitless over the final four frames and off the bases for the final 4 1/3, as Garrett Whitlock and Greg Weissert followed Giolito out of the Boston bullpen. Whitlock struck out three in two scoreless innings before Weissert recorded the three-out save on seven pitches.
–Field Level Media
