Sale strikes out 10-plus in 7th in row

BOSTON — Nothing complicated about Chris Sale’s strong start with the Red Sox. It’s the same as he had been doing with the White Sox.

Sale struck out 12 in seven innings and Mookie Betts hit a two-run homer, leading the Red Sox to a 6-3 victory over the Rays on Saturday.

It was Sale’s seventh straight start with double-digit strikeouts. The major-league record is eight straight, set by Pedro Martinez in 1999 and matched by Sale in 2015. Sale has 85 strikeouts through eight starts, tied with Randy Johnson of the 1998 Astros for the most by a pitcher in his first eight starts with a team.

Sale (4-2) has struck out 10 or more in every outing since he had seven in his Red Sox debut.

Pitching in his usual short sleeves on an unseasonably cool day under cloudy skies, Sale mixed his mid-90s fastball with a terrific slider and an occasional changeup. He got Evan Longoria looking on a 94-mph fastball in the sixth for his 10th strikeout.

“Just finding a good rhythm and tempo,” Sale said. “That’s the key to pitching, going out there and trying to get in a groove. It was nice that when I hit rough patches, my team was right there to pick me up.”

The 6-foot-6 left-hander allowed three runs and two hits, both home runs.

“It’s almost a carbon copy of each of the six previous starts, with the exception of a couple of pitches that leave the ballpark,” manager John Farrell said.

Betts also doubled in a run in a four-run fifth inning. Jackie Bradley Jr. had two hits, including his first double of the season, and Deven Marrero drove in two runs.

Kevin Kiermaier and Logan Morrison homered for the Rays, who have dropped seven of 11.