The Tampa Bay Rays (88-51) blew out the Boston Red Sox (79-62) 12-7 on Tuesday night at Fenway Park. The Rays added to their American League East division lead, now leading the Yankees by 9.5 games.
Nelson Cruz and Mike Zunino each hit two home runs to set the pace. With the two home runs for Cruz, he became the oldest player ever to have a 30-home run season. Rookie shortstop Wander Franco took a walk in the seventh inning to reach base in his 37th consecutive game. In doing so, he passed Mickey Mantle and has the second longest streak in MLB history of games reaching safely for a player younger than 21, trailing only Frank Robinson who reached base in 43 straight games in the 1956 season
The Rays scored early and often in this one, building a 3-0 lead before the Red Sox got on the board at all. From there the Ray skept adding on, and led 12-1 going into the eighth inning before Boston got some runs late in this contest to make the final score less lopsided.
The Rays now look to sweep the Red Sox when the two teams play on Wednesday night. First pitch Wednesday is scheduled for 7:10 PM - pregame coverage begins with Jay Recher and the Inside Pitch at 6:00 PM on 95.3 WDAE & AM 620.
PHOTO COURTESY GETTY IMAGES