The game was effectively settled in the sixth inning. Boston led 3-0 entering it, and by the time the Red Sox were done batting, the margin was 9-0. The six-run burst turned a competitive afternoon into a rout, and Tampa Bay never threatened at any point.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| BOS | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | X | 10 | 15 | 0 |
Jake Bennett was the foundation. The left-hander allowed just one hit and one walk over six innings, striking out three on 65 pitches. He did not permit a run. Bennett earned his fifth win against three losses, with a 2.35 ERA, and Alec Gamboa closed it out with three scoreless innings to earn his first career save.
The Sixth Inning
Boston had built a 3-0 lead on Jarren Duran's sacrifice fly in the second — which scored Caleb Durbin and gave the Red Sox a lead they never relinquished — a Carlos Narvaez single that scored Masataka Yoshida, and Yoshida's solo home run to right in the fourth. Then the sixth arrived. Duran singled to right, scoring Durbin and Yoshida to push the lead to 5-0. Narvaez reached on a bunt single, and González scored on a throwing error by catcher Nick Fortes to make it 6-0. Tsung-Che Cheng added a bunt single that scored Duran. Ceddanne Rafaela doubled to left, scoring Narvaez. Caleb Durbin then singled to right, scoring Rafaela. Six runs, five hits, one error — the inning was over and so was the game.
Narvaez capped the night with a 412-foot home run to left in the seventh, finishing 3-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBI. Yoshida went 3-for-5 with a home run and scored three times. Duran drove in three runs on one hit. Griffin Jax absorbed the damage for Tampa Bay, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits over five innings — his seventh loss of the season against a 4.08 ERA. The Rays' bullpen allowed three more.
Boston extended its winning streak to ten games, improving to 47-48. Tampa Bay fell to 56-39 on its second consecutive loss. Griffin Jax, meanwhile, sits 18 strikeouts away from 500 for his career.