ST. PETERSBURG — Just as it started to look like 13 would be a very unlucky number for the Rays, they rallied for seven runs in the fifth inning Thursday and rolled to yet another victory.
The Rays, the only remaining unbeaten team in the majors, defeated the Red Sox 9-3 at Tropicana Field for their 13th-straight win to start the season in front of a crowd of 21,175.
Their 13-0 start ties an MLB record, most recently accomplished 36 years ago by the 1987 Brewers. Tampa Bay also joins the 1982 Braves as the only three teams since 1901 to begin a season with 13 straight victories. In addition, they set a new franchise record for consecutive wins at any point in the season.
This piece of history came at a cost, however.
The Rays likely have lost a third pitcher from their highly touted rotation.
After losing Tyler Glasnow in spring training and Zach Eflin this week, Jeffrey Springs left Thursday’s game in the middle of a fourth-inning at-bat with what the team called “ulnar neuritis.”
That set an uneasy tone early for the Rays, who were not playing as sharp as they had in their first 12 wins.
It started with Springs giving up his first run of the season on a solo home run by Rob Refsnyder in the first inning, snapping Springs’ 13-inning scoreless streak. Things got worse for the left-hander in the fourth, as he walked off the field with the trainers flexing and looking at his left hand.
Garrett Cleavinger came in and gave up a single to Justin Turner, finishing the at-bat Springs had started. He struck out Refsnyder and then lost a 14-pitch battle with Triston Casas, who fouled off seven straight two-strike pitches before drawing a walk.
The Rays failed to turn a double play on Enrique Hernandez’s ground ball to short, allowing the Red Sox to score the go-ahead run. In the fifth, Josh Lowe and Wander Franco couldn’t come up with Turner’s pop-up, allowing another run to score and giving the Red Sox a 3-1 lead.
The Rays, however, have shown offensive versatility throughout this young season. They lead the majors in home runs (with Brandon Lowe’s seventh-inning homer giving them 32) but also have shown they can win by manufacturing runs.
That’s what they had to do Thursday to get out of the hole.
Trailing by two runs going into the bottom of the fifth, the Rays rallied behind a lead-off double by Harold Ramirez, RBI singles from Francisco Mejia, Brandon Lowe and Randy Arozarena, and a pinch-hit, RBI bunt single from Manuel Margot, who was practicing them the night before. The rally was capped by a bases-clearing, three-run double from Ramirez, who came up to bat for a second time in the inning.
The Rays chipped away at Red Sox starter and former teammate Corey Kluber, chasing him after 4-2/3 innings, having given up four earned runs and striking out seven.
And the bullpen held the Rays together.
Kevin Kelly kept the Red Sox to a run over 2-2/3 innings to pick up his first big-league win. Braden Bristo, the 28-year old former Yankee farmhand who got his first big-league call-up Thursday, threw three scoreless innings to earn the save.
