Take a hot team and an opponent seemingly intent on giving a game away and you get a pretty predictable result. Aided by the bumbling Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox cruised to an 8-2 victory Wednesday for their eighth straight win.
The Sox enjoyed a five-run fifth inning in which all four of their hits were singles, with only one leaving the infield. But the Rays helped out, too, with two intentional walks and a passed ball and wild pitch, both of which resulted in runs scoring. Sandy Leon also had a two-run single.
Tampa Bay's largesse didn't stop there. In the eighth, as the Sox piled on two more insurance runs, an error and another wild pitch scored the runs.
Boston got five hits and three runs scored from Eduardo Nunez and Andrew Benintendi, the top two hitters in the lineup.
Rick Porcello blanked the Rays on just one hit before allowing two solo homers in the sixth. When he gave up a single and a walk before recording an out in the seventh, his night was done.
GAME NO.: 114
WHO: Red Sox (64-49) vs Tampa Bay Rays (58-56)
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Tropicana Field
TV: NESN
RADIO: WEEI (93.7 FM)
PITCHERS: Rick Porcello (5-14, 4.70) vs. Jake Odorizzi (6-4, 4.47)
BOX SCORE: MLB Gameday
SERIES TO DATE: The Red Sox took the opener of the quick two-game series Tuesday with a masterful performance by Chris Sale. The two clubs have split the first dozen games of the season series, 6-6.
WHERE THINGS STAND: Boston has its largest lead in the A.L. East in a month, leading the second-place Yankees by four games. The Sox' seven-game winning streak is the longest active streak in the major leagues and the franchise's longest since last September, when the Sox won 11 in a row to wrap up the division. They're also a season-high 15 games over .500. The Rays are just 5-5 in their last 10 and despite an improved offensive, are having difficulty scoring runs, having been shutout in three of their last four games.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The Sox would like to see more consistency from Porcello, who had given up just 12 earned runs in five starts prior to being hit around for five runs in seven innings against the White Sox. It's expected that Hanley Ramirez will be back in the starting lineup after missing the last three games with an oblique strain.
STAT OF NOTE: On Tuesday night, the Red Sox won for the 19th time without benefit of a home run, the most such wins in MLB.
LINEUPS:
RED SOX:
Nunez 3B
Benintendi LF
Betts RF
Ramirez DH
Moreland 1B
Bogaerts SS
Holt 2B
Leon C
Bradley Jr. CF
TAMPA BAY:
Dickerson LF
Duda 1B
Longoria 3B
Morrison DH
Souza Jr. RF
Miller 2B
Ramos C
Smith CF
Hechavarria SS
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- Dustin Pedroia isn't in the lineup for Wednesday, as the Red Sox want to manage his return from the DL with some caution. Pedroia served as DH Tuesday night and went 0-for-4 with a walk. But with the artificial surface at Tropicana Field, the Sox were wary of Pedroia playing second base, especially since the shifts the team deploys would mean more time on the turf rather than the dirt infield. "We wanted to gradually build him up,'' said John Farrell. With Thursday being a day off on the schedule, Pedroia should be set for the weekend series in New York.
- For the first time since the day he joined the team in Seattle, Rafael Devers was not in the starting lineup, with Eduardo Nunez getting the start at third in his place. Devers was hitless Tuesday night for just the third time in a dozen games and is only 3-for-19 in his last five games. "He's starting to get pitch to a little differently,'' said Farrell. "This is the first time he's experienced (a bit of a slump), so we thought we'd back off him for a day. It's a another day to back off and take in a game where he can still learn at this level.''
- David Price threw again on the side, with about 15 throws from 60 feet and another 15 from 90 feet. "He came through it OK,'' Farrell reported. "We'll see him again Friday (when he throws again) in New York.''
- Blake Swihart is playing some first base in the Gulf Coast League. He continues to have some problems with the ankle that he injured last summer, limiting how much he can catch on a weekly basis. "We're trying to create as much versatility on the defensive side as we can,'' said Farrell, "while he's working back from the ankle. We're going to take a look at him at a few positions.'' Farrell said Swihart could be sent to winter ball to play some additional positions, including first and third.
- Former Red Sox manager used to refer to something called "buzzard's luck.'' The Red Sox experienced some of that in the top of the first. With Eduardo Nunez at first, Andrew Benintendi cue-balled a shot down the third base line that seemed headed for the corner. Instead, after carrying right over the third-base bag, the ball struck third base umpire Pat Hoberg in the leg and rolled a few feet away. With left fielder Corey Dickerson pulled off the line for the left-handed hitting Benintendi, Nunez would have reached third at minimum, and with his speed, might have scored. Instead, Nunez had to stop at third. Then, with two outs and runners at the corners, Mitch Moreland hit a line shot that appeared headed for center. But again, luck intervened and Tampa starter Jake Odorizzi stuck out his glove and made the catch of the liner for the final out. Buzzard's luck, all around.
- From the beginning of the game, the Sox have been hitting the ball hard, and often, right at the Rays. In the first, Mitch Moreland hit a line drive snared by Jake Odorizzi. In the third, Nunez smoked a liner directly at Evan Longoria. In the fourth, Brock Holt led off with a bullet to right that Steve Souza Jr. caught. But in the fifth, it got ugly when Eduardo Nunez hit a low, hard liner back to the box that struck Odorizzi in the lower leg. Odorizzi hobbled for a second, then went down in a heap. He soon got up with the help of a trainer and coach, but headed directly to the dugout. No word yet on his status, who was activated off the DL (lower back) hours before tonight's game.