BOSTON — For six innings, the recently-sizzling Boston bats went cold with just two hits.
But in the seventh, the Red Sox staged a three-run rally that paved the way for a 4-3 victory over the Rays that ran the team’s winning streak to season-high of seven games.
Of late, manager Alex Cora’s team hadn’t had to come back because they were so frequently ahead, and by a large margin.
This time, they hit when they had to, giving Rays reliever Bryan Baker a rude awakening on the same day he was acquired from the Orioles.
Marcelo Mayer, whose role in the near term has become uncertain with Alex Bregman due back from the injured list in the next day or two, belted an RBI double to the gap in left-center to slim the deficit to a run.
Up stepped the scorching-hot Ceddanne Rafaela, who came through with a two-run single to center to give the Red Sox their first lead since the fourth inning.
Walker Buehler kept Boston in the game with a quality start, holding the Rays to five hits and three runs over six innings.
In the previous six games, the Sox belted around two of the worst teams in the National League in the Nationals and Rockies.
With the Rays in town for the first of a four-game series, Boston’s recent momentum was put to a true test.
And with some late-inning magic, the 50-45 Red Sox responded.
