Bay’s HR ignites Red Sox over Rays
Jason Bay and J.D. Drew homered in Boston’s second straight big sixth inning and the Red Sox stopped the Tampa Bay Rays’ longest winning streak of the year with a 7-3 win Friday night.
One night after the Red Sox equaled a modern major-league record and set an AL mark with 12 runs against Cleveland before making an out in an inning, five batters scored before the first out was recorded in the sixth.
Bay tied the game with a three-run homer and Drew made it 5-3 with a two-run shot off James Shields (3-3). Bay also hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning of the 13-3 win over the Indians, the last hit in the barrage.
The Red Sox improved to 17-5 in their last 22 games. Tampa Bay’s winning streak ended at three.
Brad Penny (3-1) faced Shields for the second time in six days. He allowed three runs in his first four innings and left with runners at first and second with one out in the seventh. Hideki Okajima then retired Carl Crawford on a fly out and struck out Evan Longoria.
Crawford had his second straight outstanding game against Penny and the Sox. Five days earlier in a 5-3 win over Boston, he tied a modern major-league record with six stolen bases and went 4-for-4, including 2-for-2 with a walk against Penny.
Friday, Crawford singled, stole second and scored on Pat Burrell’s single in the first then tripled and made it 2-0 on a sacrifice fly by Longoria in the third. He hit a ground-rule double in the fifth, but was stranded.