ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Leadoff walks usually come back to haunt the Rays.
Not Saturday.
When Rays starting pitcher Ryan Yarbrough walked Andrew Benintendi in the top of the sixth, it seemed as if the Red Sox would bust the game open and break a 1-1 tie. But Ryne Stanek came on in relief and quickly flipped the script.
Stanek worked himself into a jam initially, falling behind to Steve Pearce 3-and-0, but Pearce swung at a 98-mph fastball and flew out to right field. Stanek then picked off Benintendi at first and struck out J.D. Martinez.
Kevin Kiermaier led off the bottom of the inning with a standup triple and scored on a wild pitch to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead. Tommy Pham, in the lineup for the first time since dislocating his right ring finger Tuesday, later added a home run and the Rays held on to beat the Red Sox, 5-1, at Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay has now won seven straight games and three straight against Boston.
