ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Shane Baz allowed two runs and two hits over seven innings, Jose Siri homered and drove in four runs, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 8-3 on Tuesday night.
Baz (3-3) struck out six and walked one, and set a team mark with his fifth consecutive start of giving up three hits or fewer over five-plus innings.
Siri hit one of Tampa Bay’s three homers during a four-run fifth inning and extended the Rays lead to 8-3 with his three-run bloop double to left in the eighth.
Junior Caminero, Josh Lowe and Brandon Lowe also homered for the Rays. Tampa Bay trails Minnesota by six games for the final AL wild card, and would also have pass Boston, Seattle and Detroit.
“We’re not dead,” Baz said. “I don’t think anybody in this locker room is acting like it. We’re still playing hard, and we’re going to continue to play hard.”
Triston Casas and Romy Gonzalez homered for Boston, which is five back of the Twins with 11 games remaining.
“It’s not a lack of effort,” Boston manger Alex Cora said. “It’s not happening for us right now.”
After Caminero hit a fourth-inning solo homer, Josh Lowe and Siri homered during the fifth against Nick Pivetta (5-11) to give the Rays a 3-2 lead.
Caminero said he told Siri — who raised his batting average from .189 to .192 after going 2 for 4 — before the game he would go deep.
“I like how the vibe felt today,” Caminero said through a translator. “A lot of good energy among ourselves.”
Pivetta cramped up in the neck-shoulder area after striking out Logan Driscoll. Pivetta stayed in the game after being checked out and allowed Siri’s 339-foot homer down the left-field line and Yandy Díaz’s double that ended his night.
Cora expects Pivetta to make his next schedueld start.
Bailey Horn replaced Pivetta and gave up Brandon Lowe’s two-run homer that made it 5-2.
Pivetta allowed four runs and five hits over 4 2/3 innings.
Casas had seven hits in his previous 49 at-bats before he put the Red Sox up 2-0 with his second-inning homer. Gonzalez hit a pinch-hit homer off Garrett Cleavinger leading of the eighth.
Kevin Kelly worked the ninth to extend his scoreless streak to 20 1/3 innings and complete a three-hitter.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: RHP Bryan Mata (right hamstring) will most likely not make his major-league this season.
Rays: Shane McClanahan (Tommy John surgery) will throw to hitters on Sept. 26. … Caminero had a stinger on his hand during a seventh-inning at-bat and stayed in the game.
UP NEXT
Cora said RHP Tanner Houck (8-10, 3.24 ERA) will make his first start since Sept. 4 on Wednesday night against Rays RHP Ryan Pepiot (8-6, 3.76 ERA). Houck has been slowed by right shoulder fatigue. Pepiot was pulled after two innings on Sept. 12 because his velocity was down.
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