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SPORTS Monday 9 april 2018

Red Sox rally past Rays for 8th straight win

By KYLE HIGHTOWER TRAINER'S ROOM
AP Sports Writer Rays: Manager Kevin Cash
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston said Brad Miller tweaked
Red Sox are off to the best his groin running out of the
nine-game start in fran- box. The plan was to have
chise history. him checked out Sunday
All the close ones are going and evaluated again Mon-
their way right now. day morning.
Andrew Benintendi hit a tie- Red Sox: Cora said Dustin
breaking RBI double in Bos- Pedroia is progressing well.
ton's wild six-run eighth in- He is starting to run the bas-
ning, and the Red Sox beat es, which is the next step
the Tampa Bay Rays 8-7 in his rehab from left knee
on Sunday for their eighth surgery. He took ground
straight win. balls on Saturday and has
The Red Sox lost shortstop been hitting for a month.
Xander Bogaerts to a left "He's moving well. He's go-
ankle injury in the seventh, ing side to side," Cora said.
but moved to 8-1 with the SURPRISE SONG
sweep of their three-game Brock Holt replaced Bo-
set against the struggling gaerts and had one of the
Rays. They also improved to game's most memorable
5-0 in one-run games. moments when he batted
"We stole that one again," in the eighth inning.
first-year manager Alex With Boston trailing 7-2,
Cora said. Holt walked out to Whit-
Bogaerts got hurt while slid- ney Houston's "I Will Always
ing down into the Tampa Love You," prompting a roll-
Bay dugout. Cora said he ing cheer from the Fenway
expected to know more crowd. Holt said he thought
about the severity of the in- Boston Red Sox's Andrew Benintendi, right, hits an RBI-double as Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jesus he saw Tampa pitcher
jury on Monday. Sucre, left, looks on in the eighth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 8, 2018, in Boston. Matt Andriese laugh on the
"Further evaluation tomor- Associated Press mound. Holt flied out for
row," Cora said. "We'll know highlight in a tough start for two runs and four hits in the high 11 hits and left 10 run- the inning's second out.
tomorrow after all the tests the young outfielder. ninth inning of Tampa Bay's ners on base. "Why not Whitney?" Holt
and everything." "Colome is one of the best 3-2 loss. Red Sox starter Eduardo Ro- said. "I was a little nervous
Tampa Bay has dropped closers in the league," Cora "He's human, so everybody driguez struck out five of his there for it to play in the
eight straight since its win said. "First of all we pushed can kind of go through a first six hitters in his first game situation that we were in.
on opening day. them to bring him in early. stretch. But we're some back off the disabled list But I think they might have
The Rays led 7-2 before After that it was good at- good hitters, too," Betts from knee surgery. But Tam- turned the volume up. I feel
Boston's impressive rally, bat after good at-bat. It said. "I think it's a mix of pa Bay's C.J. Cron tied it like it was a lot louder than
helped by a pair of wild was fun to watch." us putting together some at 1 with a home run in the everyone else's walk-up
pitches by Tampa Bay. Colome said Benintendi good at-bats and putting second. song."q
Rafael Devers hit a two- got ahold of a cutter. some pressure and making Carlos Gomez added an
run double and scored on "I did as best as I can and him make pitches." RBI double in the third, and
Christian Vazquez's single tried to throw strikes as best Hanley Ramirez had two Adeiny Hechavarria made
to get the Red Sox within as I could," he said through hits and two RBIs for Boston. it 3-1 Rays with an RBI single
one. Vazquez advanced an interpreter. "That just Carson Smith (1-1) pitched in the fourth.
on a wild pitch by Alex Co- happened to be the result a scoreless inning for the Rodriguez was charged
lome (0-1) and scored on of it." win, and Craig Kimbrel got with three runs and five hits
Mookie Betts' single. Colome also struggled in three outs for his third save. in 3 2/3 innings. He struck
Benintendi followed with his the series opener, allowing Tampa Bay had a season- out seven and walked two.
clutch double to center, a