Red Sox aim for ninth straight victory and third in series vs. Rays

Alex Bregman’s return from the injured list earlier Friday gave the Boston Red Sox a boost, but Ceddanne Rafaela provided the biggest.

Rafaela’s walk-off, two-run home run helped the Red Sox overcome a 4-1 deficit and beat Tampa Bay 5-4, setting up the opportunity for a third straight win to begin a four-game series against the American League East rival Rays on Saturday afternoon.

Rafaela, a 24-year-old center fielder, was not the only Red Sox youngster to make an impact on the big win, though, as 22-year-old Marcelo Mayer had a key double and Roman Anthony, 21, walked to set up Rafaela’s heroics.

“It was Marcelo, Roman and Rafaela,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “The future of this organization is bright. The present is bright, too.”

Bregman, playing in his first game since May 24, went 1-for-4 with a double. He had been out because of a quad strain.

Bregman and Boston will look to continue the team’s run — the longest active win streak in MLB at eight games — as left-hander Garrett Crochet (9-4, 2.39 ERA) makes his final start before the All-Star break and his first career start against Tampa Bay on Saturday. The All-Star has struck out at least seven batters in each of his last eight outings, giving him 151 in 120 1/3 innings this season.

Crochet worked through allowing nine hits to pitch five innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts in last Sunday’s series-sweeping 6-4 win over the Washington Nationals.

The 26-year-old earned his second straight All-Star selection, but it was announced Friday that he would not pitch in next Tuesday’s game in Atlanta due to a heavy workload.

“No need to … throw in a game that doesn’t affect our team,” he said. “It’s an unnecessary risk. It’s a huge honor to be invited. … But this year … it would be selfish, in a way, to the team. I want to come back from the break ready to throw another 60, 70 innings.”

It is an opportune time, though for a Crochet start for the Red Sox — who are in third place in the American League East — because Hunter Dobbins exited after just 1 2/3 innings Friday due to right knee pain.

Friday’s game marked the second straight in which the Rays’ bullpen lost a lead, as three unearned runs in the third inning broke open a 1-1 game. Their five blown saves this month are the most in MLB, with newcomer Bryan Baker and Pete Fairbanks taking the losses thus far in Boston.

Despite the loss, All-Star Jonathan Aranda and Jake Mangum recorded multiple hits apiece. Aranda is on a seven-game hitting streak.

“It’s too much if I look back to the past — it’s been a long journey,” Aranda said this week. “But now being named an All-Star, it’s something that I will always be grateful for. And I’m just going to enjoy the moment.”

Tampa Bay right-hander Shane Baz (8-4, 4.34 ERA) will look to remain unbeaten against the Red Sox in his career, as he is 3-0 with a 2.96 ERA in four starts. In this season’s head-to-head series, he struck out 11 in six innings of two-hit ball on April 14 (a 16-1 Rays win) before taking no-decision on June 9, an eventual 10-8 Rays victory.

Baz has thrown three straight quality starts, including striking out seven while getting tagged for three runs on seven hits by the Detroit Tigers in a 5-1 loss on Monday.

Baz has walked just four batters over his last three starts combined after issuing four walks in each of the previous two.

“So the commitment to the strike zone for Shane has certainly helped in his last couple of starts,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.

–Field Level Media