ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- For the second straight game, the Red Sox got terrific starting pitching. The difference this time was the bullpen did its job, too.
David Price pitched seven scoreless innings, while Matt Barnes and Craig Kimbrel finished things out as the Red Sox posted a 1-0 shutout over the Tampa Bay Rays to even their record at 1-1.
Red Sox starters have not allowed a run in 13 innings to date this season. Price allowed just four hits in his seven innings and didn't walk a batter.
The lone run of the game came in the seventh when, after a leadoff double by Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers drove a ground ball up the middle off lefty Jose Alvarado, scoring Bogaerts. Bogaerts had his second straight two-double game.
Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his first save.
WHO: Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Tropicana Field
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP David Price vs. LHP Blake Snell
SEASON SERIES: The Rays won the opener with a six-run eighth against the Boston bullpen.
BOX SCORE: MLB.com
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS:
9:34: Barnes works around a one-out walk to pinch-hitter Denard Span and gets pinch-hitter Joey Wendle on a hard lineout to third and retires Matt Duffy on a pop-up to first, taking us to the ninth.
9:26: Have to say this is pretty risky on Cora's part. Price had thrown just 76 pitches and he gets lifted after seven for Matt Barnes. Barnes was the one reliever who pitched well Thursday with a scoreless inning, but Price had just retired eight of the last nine. We'll see.
9:22: Andrew Benintendi is hitless in eight at-bats in two games and the frustration is setting in. After fouling out to third, he slammed his bat in the dirt as he headed back to the dugout.
9:15: After allowing a two-out ground single to Wilson Ramos, Price gets out of the inning by getting Brad Miller on a jam shot blooper to left caught by Andrew Benintendi. Price is at 76 pitches through seven and looks good for one more.
9:12: Price is still cruising, but Matt Barnes up and throwing in the Red Sox bullpen.
9:07: As was the case Thursday, the Red Sox failed to add on a bit there in the seventh. Had first-and-second and no out, but a double-play from Jackie Bradley Jr. and a strikeout by Christian Vazquez left Devers on third and the Sox have to satisfied with just one run.
8:59: On a turf chopper to the right side, Eduardo Nunez busts out of the box and beats the play to first, sliding in head-first. But Nunez is shaken up and being attended to by a trainer and Alex Cora. Would appear it's that's troublesome knees as he runs some practice sprints, but he stays in the game.
8:56: Rafael Devers manages to fight off a 95 mph four-seamer and drive it up the middle for a run-scoring single as Bogaerts trots home from second. Red Sox, 1-0
8:54: Xander Bogaerts leads off the top of the seventh by hooking a double to left, his third double in seven at-bats this spring. Gives the Sox a baserunner in scoring position with no outs, as the Rays go the pen again -- this time for lefty Jose Alvarado.
8:41: In his first big spot with the Red Sox, Martinez is called out on strikes on a full-count slider, leaving runners at the corners. Appeared a bit tentative in the at-bat.
8:34: With Betts off with the pitch, Hanley Ramirez fought off an inside pitch and dropped it into shallow right, where OF Carlos Gomez seemed caught in-between, letting the ball fall in front of him for a single as Betts motored to third. That's it for Snell, who's replaced by Roe. J.D. Martinez in a big spot with runners at the corners and two out.
8:30: RHP Chaz Roe is warming for Tampa. Snell is about to hit the 80-pitch mark. Red Sox would like to get into the Rays bullpen with Tampa planning a bullpen game Saturday, but Snell has done a nice job shutting them out through the first 5.2 innings.
8:20: Price has relied heavily on his two-seamer and cutter tonight, with just a few curveballs and changeups sprinkled in.
8:09: Price successfully pitches out of his first jam of the night. With two on and two out, Price got Wilson Ramos to fly out to right, stranding two.
8:02: Kevin Kiermaier has the first hit of the game for the Rays, as he bounced a chopper over the mound fielded by Xander Bogaerts, but Bogaerts, moving across the infield, couldn't get a lot on the throw and Kiermaier beat it out.
7:57: After a sharp single to left by Hanley Ramirez and a walk to J.D Martinez, Xander Bogaerts shot a little quail into shallow left. Rob Refsnyder came charging in and made a diving catch, saving the Rays a run. Here's the funny thing: Rays manager Kevin Cash on Wednesday was waiting for Refsnyder to arrived --the Rays had claimed him on waivers from Cleveland -- to determine if he had played any outfield. On Thursday, just to play it safe, Cash had Refsnyder as the DH. Tonight, he's in left and makes a nice catch to save a run.
7:48: Price has retired the side in each of the first three innings, and been efficient in doing so, needing just 30 pitches to get through the first three.
7:40: Baserunning remains an issue. In the opener, the Sox made two unforced outs on the bases, and Vazquez just got cut down at second trying to advance on a ball in the dirt.
7:39: First hit of the night by either team is a sharp liner to left for Christian Vazquez, who went 1-for-3 in the opener.
7:37: Nice, tumbling, over-the-shoulder grab by Adeiny Hechavarria on a blooper by Eduardo Nunez for the first out in the top of the third.
7:34: Price has a seven-pitch second inning, and tops out at 94 mph with a two-seamer to Brad Miller, who flied to CF for the final out.
7:29: It's six up, six down so far for the Red Sox. Tampa starter Blake Snell, who has had an issue with control in his the past, has been pumping strikes with good velocity (sitting at 95-96 mph) and has set down the Sox in order through the first two.
7:27: J.D. Martinez, hitless in his four plate appearances Thursday, drives a pitch the other way, but Carlos Gomez hauls it in in the right field corner.
7:23 : In his first inning as a starter since last July, David Price mixed in virtually all of his pitches in a 1-2-3 inning, incorporating seven two-seamers, three cutters and a changeup. He topped out at 93 mph with his fastball
LINEUPS:
RED SOX
Betts RF
Benintendi LF
Ramirez 1B
Martinez DH
Bogaerts SS
Devers 3B
Nunez 2B
Bradley CF
Vazquez C
RAYS:
Duffy 3B
Kiermaier CF
Gomez RF
Cron DH
Ramos C
Miller 1B
Hechavarria SS
Robertson 2B
Refsnyder LF
NEWS AND NOTES:
- Alex Cora plans to sit down with Craig Kimbrel in the coming days to map out what he has in mind for non-ninth inning usage. "We're going to show him some information, show some data,'' said Cora, "and we'll go from there. This is a guy who we feel can get anybody out. But the thing about this high-leverage situation is, for some people, it might be the seventh inning and for someone else it might be the eighth and for me, it might be the ninth. If we bring him in the seventh and all of a sudden, the eighth happens, and all of sudden we're facing (the opponents') 3-4-5 (hitters) in the ninth, and everybody says, 'Well, that's the high-leverage situation.' I know his matchups are probably better than a lot of guys, but we have a lot of guys who have pitched in those high-leverage situations and they have good matchup (history) that we can exploit. We'll take about it, but for now, we know where we're at with him. And when he's ready, he's ready and he'll be a full go.''
- Friday night marks David Price's first regular season start since last July 22 in Anaheim.
- As the Rays experiment with one turn through their rotation being a "bullpen game'' manned by a variety of relievers, the Sox don't yet know who will start Saturday's game. "The way they're going about things in this series,'' said Cora, "if you can get to the bullpen in the first two games, it's an advantage to us. (Thursday), they only used two guys from their bullpen, so advantage them. But today is one of those days, if we can get to somebody that they were expecting to extend tomorrow, that's one less pitcher for Kevin (Cash, Tampa manager). We'll have an idea who's going to start the game, but as far as lefty-righty, who we're going to play because of who's pitching, it's hard. You just go with who you feel is the best lineup tomorrow and go from there.''
- Tyler Thornburg threw in a minor league camp game in Fort Myers. "His command was off, he was up in the zone,'' reported Cora. "But he finished strong and he was healthy. We'll see where he's at tomorrow.'' Dave Dombrowski told WEEI that the Sox expect Thornburg to be available to them in "about a month.''
- Cora plans to get catcher Sandy Leon his first start Saturday, with Mitch Moreland playing both Saturday and Sunday at first base. Cora also hinted that both Eduardo Nunez and Rafael Devers will get one of the final two games off, to protect them from the hard artificial turf surface at Tropicana Field. Nunez, of course, is coming off a knee injury last fall, while Devers suffered a contusion earlier in the week after an awkward slide into home plate.