Farrell well aware of Rays’ potent production

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Before the Red Sox played at Tropicana Field last night for the first time this season, manager John Farrell said he has a healthy respect for the Tampa Bay Rays, who are lingering just a game out of the American League wild card entering a four-game series to close out the first half of the season.

“We’ve got four important games here first,” Farrell said of any talk of the All-Star break. “This is a team that’s swinging the bat very well. They’re playing good baseball, scoring a lot of runs, hitting a lot of home runs, and that’s been kind of a two-year progression for them.”

The Rays went just 7-12 against the Red Sox last season after going 10-9 against them in both 2014 and 2015. The Red Sox won four of seven games against Tampa Bay in two early series at Fenway Park this season, but Farrell said the Rays’ offensive improvements in particular have impressed him.

“The way their roster has changed and the additional power they’ve added — big dingers by (first baseman Logan) Morrison, obviously (third baseman Evan) Longoria’s always going to be dangerous, but (All-Star DH/ outfielder Corey) Dickerson, there’s a lot of guys having very good years here. How we pitch, how we come out and execute will be key, but we’re looking forward to this four-game series.”

The Rays, who have stayed within four games of .500 on either side all season long, have quietly added pieces in the last month, acquiring shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria from the Marlins and getting catcher Wilson Ramos healthy after missing the first 76 games while recovering from a torn ACL last fall.

“They’ve picked up some guys recently that are going to be major additions for them,” Farrell said. “Hechavarria is one of the premium defenders in all of baseball at shortstop. Ramos’ return to health is a key for them. This is a good team we’re going up against.”

The bullpen continues to be a weakness, as seen in turning a 3-0 sixth-inning lead on the Cubs into a 7-3 loss on Wednesday.

However, Farrell said he’s “not surprised at all” that the Rays have positioned themselves as postseason contenders entering the All-Star break — they trailed the Red Sox by 51⁄2 games entering last night.

“They’re talented guys. They’re athletic,” Farrell said. “(Plus), they continue to produce young starters that can come in and pitch very well. This will be a hard-fought series.”