SOX AT RAYS

Friday: Lucas Giolito (7-8, 6.26 ERA) vs. Ryne Stanek (1-3, 2.36), 6:10 p.m., NBCSCH, 720-AM. Saturday: Carlos Rodon (3-3, 3.24) vs. Blake Snell (12-5, 2.27), 5:10 p.m., Ch. 9, 720-AM. Sunday: James Shields (4-13, 4.56) vs. TBA, 12:10 p.m., NBCSCH, 720-AM.

career save, accounted for the Royals’ fourth run. Leury Garcia’s running catch against the wall in left helped prevent further damage.

Palka in a pinch

Palka, 4-for-11 with three homers as a pinch hitter, batted for Matt Davidson and tied Oscar Gamble’s franchise record (1977) for pinch homers. Palka said he was looking to go deep.

“I wanted to hit a homer,’’ he said. “That was it. I wanted to get a ball I could hit out of the park. He gave me one.’’

Palka has 16 homers this season.

Madrigal, Walker promoted

Fourth overall selection Nick Madrigal and second-round outfielder Steele Walker were promoted to Class A WinstonSalem and low Class A Kannapolis, respectively.

Madrigal, a middle infielder, was batting .341/.347/.409 with one walk and no strikeouts in 12 games at Kannapolis.

♦ Right-hander Alec Hansen, rated as the Sox’ No. 2 pitching prospect after leading the minors in strikeouts last season, was transferred from Class AA Birmingham to Winston-Salem. Hansen, 0-4 with a 6.56 ERA in nine starts, has dealt with soreness in his right forearm.

This and that

With 141 homers, Abreu passed Ron Kittle for 10th place on the all-time franchise list.

♦ Narvaez is batting .407 with six doubles, four homers and 17 RBI in his last 27 games.

♦ Anderson has hit safely in 20 of his last 21 home games.

♦ Catcher Kevan Smith missed the game while with his wife, awaiting the birth of the couple’s first child. The couple plans to name the baby after close friend and former teammate Daniel Webb, who died in an ATV accident last October.