BOSTON — Rick Porcello gave the Boston Red Sox exactly what they needed.
David Ortiz and Mookie Betts did their part, too, taking care of the offense after a rough night.
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WHO: Rays (Odorizzi 0-1) at Red Sox (Price 2-0)
WHEN: 1:35 p.m. Thursday
TELEVISION: NESN
Betts hit a two-run homer and Ortiz drove in three runs with a pair of doubles to back Porcello, helping the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 on Wednesday night to stop a three-game losing streak.
“Knowing we needed a deep start, he gave us everything we could have asked for,” Red Sox Manager John Farrell said after his team used six relievers and was defeated 3-0 in 10 innings on Tuesday night.
Xander Bogaerts and Chris Young had RBI singles for the Red Sox, who ended a 63-game non-shutout streak at home on Tuesday.
With Boston having emptied its bullpen after Joe Kelly left Tuesday’s game in the first with a right shoulder impingement, Porcello (3-0) allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings, struck out nine and walked one.
“The bullpen had a lot of work the past couple of games, definitely paramount to go deep into the game to take a little pressure off them,” Porcello said.
He held the Rays scoreless on two hits through five innings while the Red Sox opened a 6-0 lead against Chris Archer (0-4). Porcello gave up Corey Dickerson’s two-run homer in the sixth.
Archer gave up six runs and eight hits in 41/3 innings as the Rays’ three-game winning streak ended. He is 0-7 with a 6.39 ERA in his last 10 starts.
After being held to one hit in Tuesday’s loss, the Red Sox scored three runs before Archer got an out. Bogaerts singled in a run, and Ortiz followed with a two-run double into the left-center gap.
“The first inning put the team behind the 8-ball,” Archer said. “I didn’t execute pitches very well, and they made the most of it.”
Boston made it 5-0 in the second when Betts homered off a light stanchion above the Green Monster.
Ortiz’s RBI double in the fifth made it 6-0. But it may have been a costly trip from first for Bogaerts, who left after scoring due to left quadriceps tightness.
“For as quiet as their bats were last night, they sure broke them out today,” Rays Manager Kevin Cash said. “They kind of had a relentless attack going, really good approach. You know coming into this, facing this team, they’re very capable of doing that.”
Tampa Bay closed to 6-2 when Dickerson hit his homer over Boston’s bullpen.
NOTES: Red Sox outfielder Brock Holt was in the lineup after sitting out three games. … Kelly was placed on the 15-day DL before the game. Farrell said it was too early to project a timetable for his return. … Bogaerts also had to race from first on Ortiz’s first double, and that’s when he felt the quad tighten. “I probably felt it my first at-bat when I got the base hit and Papi had the double that I scored on,” he said. … Porcello has gone at least six innings in his last 11 starts, the longest streak in the AL. “Yeah, that’s my job,” he said. “I want to go out there and pitch deep into games. I want to continue to do so, continue to improve on things I might not be doing so well. Just keep working and not get complacent.”
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