Field Level Media
Apr 27, 2018
Wilson Ramos slugged a two-run homer and both Rob Refsnyder and Daniel Robertson clubbed solo shots as the visiting Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 for their seventh straight victory Friday night at Fenway Park.
Rays starter Blake Snell did not allow a baserunner until his fourth-inning walk of Mookie Betts and didn't give up a hit until Xander Bogaerts' leadoff single in the fifth. Snell (4-1) struck out nine over 7 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk.
After losing 13 of its first 17 games, Tampa Bay has outscored its opponents 51-28 during its winning streak.
J.D. Martinez (2-for-4) had a pair of RBIs and Mookie Betts (2-for-3, walk) also drove in a run for Boston, which lost for the fourth time in six games.
Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz (0-1) was charged with four runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in five innings.
Robertson and C.J. Cron both went 2-for-3 and Refsnyder finished the game 2-for-2 with a walk. Alex Colome earned his fifth save with a scoreless ninth.
Boston shortstop Bogaerts made his return from the disabled list, finishing 3-for-4 with a strikeout. Bogaerts missed 15 games with a left ankle injury.
Tampa Bay third baseman Matt Duffy also came back from a seven-game DL stint and went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
The long ball bit Pomeranz in the early innings as homers by Ramos, Refsnyder and Robertson had the Rays up 4-0 after four innings.
Ramos belted a two-run shot, his third of the season, an estimated 395 feet over the Green Monster in left field in the Rays' first.
Refsnyder followed suit with an estimated 401-foot solo blast to left in the third for his first homer of the year. Robertson hit a solo bomb for his third home run of approximately 398 feet to left an inning later.
The homer for Refsnyder was his first since Oct. 1, 2015, when he slugged a solo shot versus Boston as a member of the New York Yankees. His three career homers have all come against the Red Sox.
Betts and Martinez each knocked two-run doubles in the sixth. Martinez also had an RBI single in the eighth.
Before the game, Tampa Bay optioned right-hander Austin Pruitt to Triple-A Durham to make room for Duffy. Boston placed utility man Brock Holt (left hamstring strain) on the 10-day DL to account for Bogaerts' spot.
Rays right-hander Yonny Chirinos (0-1, 2.92 ERA) opposes Red Sox left-hander David Price (2-2, 2.93 ERA) on Saturday.
--Field Level Media