BOSTON _ A lot sure seemed to go wrong for the Rays on Saturday, starting with an abbreviated and unsuccessful start by Yonny Chirinos that may cause a roster shuffle and an injury to catcher Wilson Ramos.
But even more went right as they battled through for a 12-6 victory that was their eighth straight, extending their longest winning streak since 2014.
The list of key contributors was lengthy, beginning with Ryan Yarbrough, who stepped in for Chirinos and worked four strong innings, and Jose Alvarado, who got four big outs.
There were key hits up and down the lineup as they scored in seven different innings, starting with an inside-the-park homer by Denard Span and ending with a three-run blast by rookie Johnny Field.
The Rays improved to 12-13, a long way from their 1-8 start, and with a chance, weather permitting, to get back to .500 on Sunday.
The eventful game featured the Red Sox scoring in each of the first five innings and again in the ninth, and the Rays in seven of the last eight.
After the Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first off Chirinos, the Rays got two on a Span hit that bounced by center fielder Jackie Bradley for his second inside-the-park-homer in the last two seasons, their first since 2015.
Chirinos gave up another run in the second, the Rays got two more on a homer by Ramos, who became the first catcher in franchise history to go deep in three straight games.
The Sox tied it in the fourth. The Rays went back ahead in unexpected fashion, their former ace David Price loading the bases and then walking Daniel Robertson on four pitches.
The Sox tied it again in the fifth, when Rafael Devers homered left-on-left off Yarbrough, who otherwise pitched extremely well.
And then the Rays went back ahead in the sixth, and added on.
In the sixth, they got a run when Adeiny Hechavarria singled, moved up on a passed ball and came in on an errant throw following Matt Duffy's infield single. In the seventh, they got one a homer by Carlos Gomez. And in the eighth when Field singled, moved up on a Duffy single and scored on a two-out double by Jesus Sucre, who had replaced Ramos.
They added four in the ninth, with the big blow from Field, who made his first big-league homer quite memorable with a three-run shot over the Green Monster.
The short start from Chirinos set in motion a series of events that could impact the roster in several ways.
With Chirinos lasting only two-plus innings, the Rays had to turn to Yarbrough, who had seemed likely to be Sunday's Bullpen Day starter. That lead to Chih-Wei Hu being scratched from his scheduled start at Triple-A Durham, and seemingly likely headed to Boston. And that will lead to the Rays having to make room on the roster, potentially having to drop a position player.
They also have to deal with Ramos, who had been sizzling at the plate, leaving in the seventh. Ramos had just singled for his third hit, and fourth time on base, when he came out for what the team said was precautionary reasons due to tightness in both legs and was day to day. He had been checked on twice earlier in the game after being hit by balls behind the plate.
The Rays went into the afternoon expecting a good outing from Chirinos, who'd faced the Sox twice previously without allowing a run.
But it was evident early that Chirinos was not sharp and the Sox were not going to be fooled. He put the first three on (hit batter, single, walk) and had to work hard to escape allowing just one run. Two hits and a wild pitch to start the second led to another run. And when he allowed the first four Sox to reach in the third, and another run in, his day was done.
