Bogaerts powers Red Sox
Two-run triple, pair of doubles highlight comeback vs. Rays
Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run triple and added a pair of doubles, and the Boston Red Sox scored seven straight runs after allowing three in the first to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 on Friday night.
Jackie Bradley Jr. had two hits, including an RBI double in the sixth, and the Red Sox improved on the best record in the majors with their 87th victory.
Brian Johnson recovered after getting roughed up in the first with three runs on four hits and a walk. Johnson (4-3) didn’t allow another run and pitched 52/3 innings before leaving after Joey Wendle’s two-out double in the sixth — Tampa Bay’s first hit since the first inning.
Wendle drove in two runs with a double in the first and Carlos Gomez had an RBI single for the Rays.
Yonny Chirinos (1-5) took over for Ryne Stanek in the second inning and allowed five runs on nine hits over six innings.
Bogaerts pulled Boston within 3-2 on a triple to center in the first, then led off the fourth with a double. Eduardo Nunez drove him in with a single to tie it at 3-all and the Red Sox added another run on Mookie Betts’ leadoff double in the fifth and a one-out single by Mitch Moreland.
Mallex Smith had a pair of hits for the Rays and made a great catch in the second on a sinking ball hit by Nunez, running it down in shallow right just before crashing hard into the wall with his left hip. Smith held on to the ball despite tumbling into the front row and remained in the game after a quick visit from the trainer.
Bradley answered in the third for Boston when he ran down a long fly near the wall and made a leaping catch just in front of the 379-foot mark for the second out.