G141: Red Sox 9, Rays 3

Rays    - 000 020 100 - 3  5  1
Red Sox - 300 500 10x - 9 12  0

The Red Sox (once again) used Tampa Bay's Chris Archer (3-9-8-1-5, 81) for batting practice.

Mookie Betts sparked the team by making a sensational running catch in deep right in the top of the first and hitting a three-run homer down the right field line in the bottom half. The first five batters in the fourth reached base against Archer before he got the hook - and all five of them eventually crossed the plate.

The Red Sox led 3-0 after only nine pitches. Dustin Pedroia singled, Andrew Benintendi doubled, and Betts hit his first home run since August 3. Mitch Moreland and Rafael Devers also singled in the inning, but Archer left them on base.

In the fourth, Devers doubled to left, Christian Vazquez singled to right, Jackie Bradley singled to center (Devers scored), Pedroia reached on an infield error (Vazquez scored), and Benintendi singled to center (Bradley scored). Chaz Roe relieved Archer. Betts walked and Hanley Ramirez singled to left (Pedroia scored). Benintendi scored the inning's final run when Moreland grounded into double play

Meanwhile, Drew Pomeranz (6-2-2-2-7, 103) was mowing down the Rays. He did not allow a hit until the fifth inning when Brad Miller singled with one out and Jesus Sucre homered.

Boston added a run in the seventh when, with two outs, Devers walked and scored on Vazquez's double.

Devers went 3-for-3 with two singles, a double, a walk, and two runs scored. ... Bradley made a great catch at the garage door in dead center for the final out of the game. (Lots of video)

MFY Watch: The Rangers beat the Yankees 11-5 ("Tanaka The Terrible showed up again - this time in Texas"), so New York is now 4.5 GB.

Chris Archer / Drew Pomeranz

Pedroia, 2B
Benintendi, LF
Betts, RF
Ramirez, DH
Moreland, 1B
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Vazquez, C
Bradley, CF

David Price is scheduled to throw a simulated game of two innings and 30 pitches on Saturday. Ian Browne (MLB.com) reports that if Price "starts to build back up on a five-day routine of sim games without setbacks, he could probably get back to the six-to-seven-inning range by the last week of the regular season".

MFY Watch: The Yankees are 3.5 GB. ... MFY/TEX.

And a few notes from the week:

Tuesday

Cleveland's Jose Ramirez has 15 extra-base hits over his last nine games dating back to August 27 (seven doubles, one triple, seven homers). Only two other players in the modern era (since 1900) totaled 15 or more extra-base hits over a nine-game span within one season. Mel Ott had 16 extra-base hits over a nine-game span for the New York Giants in June 1929 and Tony Oliva had 15 extra-base hits for the Twins over nine games in June 1969.

The Red Sox bullpen set a team record with 13 scoreless innings against the Blue Jays. The old record was 11 innings, set against the Tigers on June 5, 2001.

The Tigers beat the Royals 13-2 on Tuesday, despite their starting pitcher, Anibal Sanchez, not recording an out. The Red Sox have had this situation happen 13 times since the start of the 1913 season. The last two times were on July 3, 1980 (Chuck Rainey) and September 28, 2000 (Ramon Martinez). The most famous instance occurred during the first game of a doubleheader on June 23, 1917, when Babe Ruth walked the first batter for the Senators, punched the home plate umpire in the head, and was ejected. Ernie Shore came in from the bullpen, the opposing runner was caught stealing, and Shore retired the next 26 batters.

Wednesday

The Diamondbacks' streak of 97 consecutive innings in which they did not trail ended in the first inning against the Dodgers. Arizona tied the 1947 Dodgers for the second-longest streak within one season in the modern era (since 1900). The 1942 Yankees went 100 innings without trailing. (Elias initially reported Arizona's feat as 98 innings, but revised it to 97. Other news stories stayed with 98 (here and here). CBS listed the top two teams as: the 2002 Athletics (102 innings) and the 1942 Yankees (101 innings). Elias does not mention the A's and has the Yankees at one fewer inning.

Most Hits In A Three-Game Series (Since 1900)

12 - Willie Keeler, 1901 Superbas (current-day Dodgers), against the Reds
12 - John Stone, 1935 Senators, against the Browns
12 - Eric McNair, 1939 White Sox, against the Browns
12 - Joe Panik, 2017 Giants, against the Rockies

Pablo Sandoval is 0-for-his-last-38, the longest hitless streak for a Giants position player in the modern era.

Will Middlebrooks of the Rangers became the first person in major league history to have a pinch-hit triple in both games of a doubleheader. In Game 1, he batted for the pitcher in the fourth inning and drove in two runs. In Game 2, he led off the sixth inning by batting for (and replacing) the starting third baseman.

Thursday

Cleveland extended its winning streak to a franchise-record 15 games. They are the fifth team in major league history to have winning streaks of 14+ games in back-to-back seasons. The other teams are the Chicago White Stockings (now known the Cubs) (18 games in 1885 and 14 games in 1886), the Baltimore Orioles (not related to the current Orioles) (18 in 1894 and 14 in 1895), the New York Giants (16 in 912 and 14 in 1913), the Chicago Cubs (21 in 1935 and 15 in 1936), and Cleveland (14 in 2016 and 15 in 2017).

Cleveland also became the fifth team in major league history to go 11-0 or better on a road trip, joining the 1931 A's (11-0), the 1951 White Sox (11-0), the 1953 Yankees (14-0), and the 1957 Reds (12-0).