The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Red Sox take third straight from Rays
Knuckleballer bounces back from rough outing
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, two-run 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 1995-2011.
“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 four-game 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, who had planned to give
Kimbrel the day off until the closer came to him and said he could pitch.
Boston trailed 2-1 in the second when Miller dropped an easy toss from shortstop Tim Beckham for what would have been an inning-ending forceout on Marco Hernandez’s grounder. Benintendi’s single to center put the Red Sox ahead, and Mookie Betts singled for a 4-2 lead.
“Just didn’t catch the ball and it ended up costing us three runs and ended up being the difference in the game,” Miller said. “Just went in and came right out.”