BOSTON _ Yandy Diaz gave the Rays the early lead they wanted. Charlie Morton gave them the strong start they needed. Then Chaz Roe, Adam Kolarek, Diego Castillo, Jose Alvarado and Emilio Pagan combined _ barely _ for the relief work they previously lacked.
And it all added up to a tense 2-1 win over the Red Sox on a cold Boston afternoon.
The win improved the Rays to a majors-best 17-9, and gave them at least some measure of revenge after being swept by the Red Sox last weekend at the Trop.
The Rays led 2-0 when Morton left, but it wasn't easy from there.
Bullpen work has been an issue of late for the Rays, and Saturday wasn't easy.
Roe got two outs but allowed one on in the seventh, and Kolarek came on to finish that inning.
Castillo started the eighth by allowing a homer to Mookie Betts, then got Mitch Moreland on a deep fly out and walked Xander Bogaerts, which ended his day.
Manager Kevin Cash then summoned lefty Jose Alvarado, who has been their highest leverage reliever. Alvarado gave up a single to lefty-swinging Rafael Devers, putting the tying run on third and the go-ahead run on first. Alvarado struck out rookie Michael Chavis, but then walked Steve Pearce, who worked a tough nine-pitch at-bat, to load the bases.
But Alvarado escaped by striking out Jackie Bradley.
Pagan, who logged his first two big league saves on Monday and Tuesday, allowed a leadoff single in the ninth to Christian Vazquez. He came back to strike out Andrew Benintendi looking, then got a bad break turned good when Diaz couldn't catch Mookie Betts' popup behind first but recovered to get the force out at second.
Pagan then struck out Moreland to end it.
Having grown up in Connecticut, pitching at Fenway Park is always going to be something at least somewhat special for Morton.
The first time he did, during a pre-draft workout in 2002, the scooped some dirt off the mound and pulled a few blades of grass to stuff into a small container and bring home as a souvenir.
Morton didn't make it back until 2017, when he signed on with the Astros after being with National League teams his whole career, and won there twice in the regular season, and got a no-decision in a 2017 AL division series game.
Saturday, facing the Red Sox for the second time in eight days, Morton worked six shutout innings, allowing only two hits, though with four walks.
The Rays took an early lead, like second pitch of the game early, when Diaz launched a David Price fastball a Statcast-estimated 428 feet, with a 105.1 mph exit velocity and at a 25-degree launch angle, into the seats at the centerfield end of the Green Monster wall. For the guy who didn't loft the ball or hit homers in Cleveland, that was his team-high seventh of the season, and second leading off a game.
The Rays made it 2-0 in the fourth, but could have had more against their ex-mate. Tommy Pham led off with a double that caromed off the wall, then Daniel Robertson walked. With one out, Mike Zunino again showed that new dad strength, muscling a ball that pinged off the wall and scored Pham.
A ground ball single by Kevin Kiermaier loaded the bases, but the Rays got no more off Price as he struck out Guillermo Heredia on a full-count changeup and Willy Adames, who is struggling again, swung at the first pitch and grounded weakly into a force out.
The Rays were looking for revenge after being swept last weekend at the Trop, losing all three games by a total of four runs.
The Rays had been waiting a while to play, losing 10-2 to the Royals in a Wednesday matinee, then having Thursday off and being rained out Friday. They went nearly 72 hours from the last pitch on Wednesday to the first on Saturday. Though it was still cold on Saturday _ first-pitch temperature was 53 _ at least it was dry.
