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BOSTON — Instant reactions from the Red Sox' 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of a doubleheader at Fenway Park on Friday:
1. The Red Sox (48-48) have won 11 straight games for the first time since 2016 and reached .500 for the first time since March 28 when they were 1-1. They swept Friday’s doubleheader against Tampa Bay, winning the first game 10-0 behind six dominant innings from starter Jake Bennett.
“It was a great day obviously,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “It was two very well played games. Two very well pitched games and big swings in big moments. Very good day for us.”
2. Boston — which has won 16 of its past 18 games — has a half game lead over the Twins and Mariners for the third and final AL Wild Card. It will become a three-way tie if the Twins and Mariners win tonight. It would be a two-way tie if one of those teams wins and the other loses.
The Twins are beating the Cubs in the sixth inning. Seattle is playing the Giants at 10:10 p.m. ET.
“It means a lot,” Tracy said about reaching .500 and being tied for the third AL Wild Card. “We talked a lot about the journey it’s been and how rough things were, but the guys have come together and they’re playing great baseball. And I’ll reiterate it —it’s not time to look at the standings. It’s nice but there’s a long way to go. It’s not time to look at it. Just right now, our mindset should be who we’re facing tomorrow and let’s figure out how to win a game tomorrow. But definitely you want to applaud the work that they’ve done over the last two and a half weeks to get in this position."
3. The Sox didn’t trail for long after falling behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning. Wilyer Abreu’s 422-foot, 106.6 mph two-run home run to right-center field in the bottom of the first tied it 2-2. He connected a low changeup from Rays starter Mason Englert.
4.Willson Contreras homered in his first at-bat back from his five-game suspension. His 367-foot, 107.6-mph solo blast landed in the Monster Seats and gave Boston a 3-2 lead in the first inning. He connected on a 94.1 mph fastball up in the zone. It marked Contreras’ 21 home run this season. Abreu and Contreras went back-to-back.
5. Abreu again went deep in his second at-bat on a sinker that Englert left over the middle of the plate. His 405-foot solo home run put Boston ahead 4-3 after the Rays had tied it 3-3 in the top half on Junior Caminero’s solo blast. It marked Abreu’s sixth-career multi-home run game. He has 13 homers on the season.
6. Anthony Seigler made it 5-3 Red Sox in the fourth inning when he ripped a two-out RBI double. The ball left his bat at 104.8 mph and went 366 feet off the right field wall on one bounce. It scored Tsung-Che Cheng who had walked with two outs.
7. Cheng made a leaping grab at shortstop, catching Ryan Vilade’s 94.4 mph line drive for the final out of the fifth inning. he had a big smile on his face as he ran off the field.
8. Left-hander Eduardo Rivera started for Boston. He pitched 2 ⅓ innings, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks while striking out three.
9. Greg Weissert took over for Rivera and recorded the final two outs of the third. Jovani Morán pitched a scoreless fourth and fifth inning. Tyron Guerrero threw a scoreless sixth inning. Garrett Whitlock threw a scoreless seventh inning. Justin Slaten threw a scoreless eighth inning. Aroldis Chapman finished it off with a scoreless ninth inning.
10. The Red Sox and Rays will play the third game of their four-game series Saturday at 4:10 p.m. Lefty Patrick Sandoval (0-0, 2.08 ERA) will start for Boston while left-hander Ian Seymour (6-2, 4.59 ERA) will start for Tampa Bay.
More Red Sox coverage
- Rookie starter, Red Sox ‘super fired up’ — and why Game 1 win couldn’t have been drawn up any better
- With Red Sox ‘firing on all cylinders,’ three key hitters might have broken out Friday
- Red Sox lineup: Slugger returns as Boston has chance to reach .500 for first time since March 28
- Red Sox reactions: Boston bludgeons Rays for 10th straight win; Masataka Yoshida has big day
- Red Sox sign first-round pick, three other high-upside draftees to seven-figure bonuses
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