G8: Red Sox 10, Rays 3

Rays    - 200 000 010 -  3  6  0
Red Sox - 440 000 20x - 10  9  0

As noted below, Boston's starting pitchers have allowed only four runs in 43 innings this season (0.86 ERA), so when Rick Porcello gave up three hits to his first four batters (two singles and a two-run double), you might have figured, Well, one of our starters was bound to have a crappy day at some point.

Nope.

After Brad Miller's double gave the Rays a 2-0 lead - which turned out to be their sole bit of sunshine on Saturday afternoon - Porcello retired 20 of the next 21 batters, allowing only a one-out single in the second. And Porcello threw one ball or no balls in the counts to 14 of those 21 batters. He had a stretch in which he set down 15 batters on only 43 pitches. His line: 7.1-6-3-0-7, 94. Pitches by inning: 17-20-10 8-9-12 9-9.

The Red Sox won their seventh consecutive game in convincing fashion. Xander Bogaerts drove in a career-best six runs, four of them coming on an absolute moon shot of a grand slam over everything in left. The win was capped with two exclamation points in the seventh: the first home runs of the year from J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers.

For the Rays, Jake Faria (1.2-5-8-5-0, 73) could not do anything right. Mookie Betts nearly homered to start the bottom of the first, but settled for a double when his fly was a few inches short of going over the Wall. Faria walked Andrew Benintendi on four pitches and watched as Hanley Ramirez's bloop to short left fell for a hit when shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria backpedaled, got the sun in his eyes, and fell down.

Martinez nearly had a grand slam, pounding a full-count pitch to deep right-center. However, Carlos Gomez reached over the short bullpen wall to rob JDM. It wasn't a total loss, as Betts tagged and scored. Bogaerts smoked a line drive double off the Wall - his seventh double of the season, in eight games - and the Red Sox led 3-0. Devers followed with a hard single to right and X crossed the plate. Austin Pruitt started warming up in the Tampa Bay bullpen, but Faria got the last two outs, though Jackie Bradley took him to the edge of the warning track in right.

Sandy Leon, the only hitter to not bat in the first inning, flied out to center to start the second. And then the Red Sox went to work again. Betts and Benintendi each walked on five pitches. After Ramirez popped to first, Faria also walked Martinez, loading the bases. He fell behind Bogaerts 3-1, but X fouled a pitch off. Faria's next one was a little low, but down the middle of the plate. Bogaerts did what is required on a pitch like that - promptly losing it somewhere on the other side of Landsdowne Street. After Faria walked Devers, he was told to go home. (Faria's ERA jumped from 2.25 to 14.29 today!)

Pruitt took over and gave up a double to Eduardo Nunez, but retired both Bradley and Leon. Over the next four innings, Pruitt gave up only a two-out walk to Bogaerts. Chad Roe surrendered the dongs in the seventh: Martinez's homer was to deep left while Devers hit his into the Rays' bullpen.

Porcello allowed a run in the eighth, as Joey Wendle led off with a double and scored on Denard Span's one-out single. Marcus Walden relieved and ended the inning by starting a 1-6-3 double play. In the ninth, he struck out two batters, sandwiched around a diving catch in left by Benintendi.

Bogaerts's previous high for RBI was five, on September 21, 2015, also against the Rays. ... Sox of Boston's nine hits were for extra bases (3 singles, 3 doubles, 3 home runs). ... Pitches thrown: By Red Sox: 106. By Rays: 170.

Magic Number: 153!

Jake Faria / Rick Porcello

Betts, RF
Benintendi, LF
Ramirez, 1B
Martinez, DH
Bogaerts, SS
Devers, 3B
Nunez, 2B
Bradley, CF
Leon, C

The Red Sox starting pitchers' 0.86 ERA (4 runs in 43 innings) is the lowest ERA posted by any team's starters through seven games since Atlanta had a 0.56 ERA in 1993 (4 runs in 55 innings).

David Price is the first Red Sox pitcher since Mel Parnell in 1949 with two starts of seven or more shutout innings to begin a season. Parnell:

0421 at PHI: 9-6-0-4-5, Red Sox won 4-0 (4 runs in T9; Parnell drove two of the runs)
0425 vs WAS: 9-7-0-2-4, Red Sox won 2-0

Parnell's third start of 1949 was at Yankee Stadium on May 1: 8-6-2-2-4. Boston won 11-2. ... Innings pitched in his next four starts: 11.1, 11, 9, 12 (all complete games).

Eduardo Rodriguez is expected to be added to the roster on Sunday. ... Joe Kelly and Carson Smith have allowed eight runs. The other ten pitchers on the staff have also combined to allow eight runs.

Ohtani!: On Friday, Shohei Ohtani homered (449 feet) in his third straight game. In four starts as the Angels' DH, he's hitting .412 (7-for-17) with three home runs and seven RBI. Ohtani will make his second start on the mound on Sunday.

Things are not going very well in New York. The Post's George King: "Eight games into a season that was predicted to be historic by some the Yankees need to link several Carl Pavano Memorial MRI tubes to snap the team picture." ... The MFY dropped to 4-4 with a 7-3 loss to the Orioles in 14 innings on Friday and now trail the first-place Red Sox by 2.5 games.

Actually four Yankees left the game with injuries. CC Sabathia was pulled after four innings with soreness in his right hip (an MRI was clean). Gary Sanchez (right leg cramps), Brandon Drury (migraine), and Tyler Wade (flu-like symptoms) also left during the game. None of these injuries (or maladies) seem serious, sadly.

Update: Sabathia and Drury are now on the the 10-day DL!