ST. PETERSBURG -AP- The Red Sox stormed to their eighth consecutive win Wednesday night, riding a quality start from Rick Porcello, timely hitting and sloppy play by the Rays for an 8-2 win at Tropicana Field.
The Red Sox took a 1-0 lead in the third after Andrew Benintendi scored when Rays starter Jake Odorizzi dropped a toss while covering first base for what would have been the first out.
Odorizzi had to leave the game when Eduardo Nunez lined a single off the right-hander's right foot to start the fifth. X-rays were negative and Odorizzi is day to day with a bruised right foot. Nunez finished with two hits in five at-bats, giving him 21 hits in his first 11 games -- the most by a Red Sox player after his first 11 games with the club.              Dan Jennings took over for Odorizzi, and the Rays' plight went from bad to worse. The Red Sox scored five times in the fifth, using a wild pitch, a passed ball, two intentional walks, an RBI single by Mookie Betts and a two-run single by Sandy Leon to take a 6-0 lead. Porcello cruised through the Rays' lineup through five innings in dominating fashion, including a fifth inning that saw him strike out the side on nine pitches. But he allowed solo homers to Adeiny Hechavarriaand Brad Miller in the sixth, and then allowed the first two Rays to reach in the seventh. Matt Barnes came on and cleaned up with a 6-4-3 double play before he retired Mallex Smith to end the threat. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Timely DP: The Rays trailed, 6-2, entering the bottom of the seventh when Steven Souza Jr. singled to start the inning. Porcello then walked Trevor Plouffe, which prompted Red Sox manager John Farrell to bring in Barnes to face Wilson Ramos. Tampa Bay's catcher quickly bounced into a 6-4-3 double-play, moving Souza to third and effectively diffusing the rally. Smith grounded out to end the inning. Leon's single: The Red Sox had already scored three times in the sixth when Leon stepped to the plate to face Jennings with two outs and runners on second and third. Leon promptly laced a 1-2 fastball to left field to drive home both runners and put the game on ice at 6-0.
Bill Chastain/ MLB.com
 

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