ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Clay Buchholz pitched into the seventh inning, David Ortiz had a run-scoring single and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 on Tuesday night to remain tied atop the AL East.
Buchholz (5-9) allowed one run, five hits, two walks and struck out nine in 6 1/3 innings. In his last five starts at Tropicana Field, the right-hander has given up two earned runs over 33 1/3 innings.
Ortiz extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI single in the third. Ortiz scored to make it 2-0 when right fielder Steven Souza Jr. made an errant throw attempting to get Ortiz at third base after fielding Mookie Betts’ single.
Boston is tied with Toronto, which beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-2.
Chris Archer (7-17) gave up two runs, five hits and threw 109 pitches in five innings for the Rays. The last 20-game loser in the majors was Detroit’s Mike Maroth (21) in 2003.
Archer won his first career start against the Red Sox on Sept. 19, 2012 but has dropped 10 straight decisions to them since.
The Rays got an RBI double from Kevin Kiermaier in the fifth.
Kiermaier was thrown out trying for a triple in the eighth by Betts from right field.
Craig Kimbrel got the final three outs for his 23rd save.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Red Sox: Manager John Farrell said knuckleballer Steven Wright (strained right shoulder) is “on tap” to start Friday night against Kansas City after an extended bullpen session Tuesday. … LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (left hamstring) had a three-inning simulated game. The team will evaluate him Wednesday. … C Ryan Hanigan (left ankle) hit against Rodriguez. … RHP Koji Uehara (right pectoral strain) threw 33 pitches in his first mound session and will be evaluated in a week.
Rays: SS Tim Beckham left after seven innings due to left hamstring tightness.
BIG PAPI POINTS
Ortiz moved past Bobby Doerr into sixth place on Boston’s career list with 2,043 hits. He has 1,739 RBIs, which is one away from tying Rafael Palmeiro for the ninth most in AL history.
UP NEXT
Red Sox RHP Rick Porcello (17-3), 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA in three starts against Tampa Bay this season, faces Rays RHP Matt Andriese (6-5) on Wednesday night.
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