Benintendi leads Sox to comeback win

BOSTON — Steven Wright followed a spot start by working with former Red Sox knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

He was much better this time.

Andrew Benintendi backed Wright with a go-ahead, tworun single as Boston scored three unearned runs following a dropped throw by second baseman Brad Miller, and the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 on Monday in the annual Patriots' Day game.

Wright (1-1) allowed only one earned run and nine hits before being pulled after a leadoff single in the seventh. The knuckleballer gave up four homers over 1 1/3 innings in his previous start.

Wakefield, who now works with NESN, won 186 games with the Red Sox from 19952011.

“I think anything can be better than the last start. I was fortunate to have Wake here, worked a lot,” Wright said. “I definitely was talking to him constantly the last four, five days just trying to bounce some things off him to get back to that timing and rhythm I had last year.”

Benintendi had three singles in the 11:05 a.m. start, which coincides with the Boston Marathon, and the Red Sox won their third straight after losing the opener of the fourgame series.

Rookie Ben Taylor gave up a run-scoring single to Steven Souza Jr. with two outs in the seventh, then retired Logan Morrison on a bases-loaded flyout. Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for a save on the third straight day, his sixth this season.

“He's probably in the best spot he's been from a delivery standpoint in the year and a half he's been here,” said manager John Farrell.