BOSTON _ Whether Blake Snell has shaken his shaky past and emerged as a legitimate, dependable and often dominating starter for the Rays is no longer the question.
Now it may be when he starts getting talked about as an ace.
Snell continued his impressive start to this season, and extended his late 2017 turnaround, with another impressive outing in a tough test, beating the Red Sox on a cold night at Fenway Park.
After Alex Colome survived a leadoff single to finish things in the ninth, the Rays had banked their seventh straight win _ extending their longest streak since 2014 _ in topping the Red Sox, 4-3.
Having allowed only one run in each of his last three starts, and no walks in his last two, Snell was sharp from the start Friday in working a career-high 71/3 innings, taking a no-hitter into the fifth, improving to 4-1, 2.52.
Snell retired the first nine Sox in order, then worked around a leadoff walk and his own error to get through the fourth. He allowed his first to leadoff the fifth, Xander Bogaerts' single through the infield that went off the glove of diving shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria.
He had his only real spot of trouble came in the sixth, when he allowed three doubles in a five-batter span that netted two runs, and he came back to work the seventh and retire the first batter of the eighth.
He finished allowing just the two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out nine, throwing 104 pitches. That made for a team-record 10 straight starts of allowing five or fewer hits, dating back to Sept. 12, 2017, breaking a tie with Drew Smyly and Matt Moore.
The Rays, who came into the game on a six-game winning streak, have come to expect good things from Snell.
He has had the potential _ a word he hates hearing by the way _ since the Rays made him their seventh pick, and 52nd overall, in the ill-fated 2011 draft, given the combination of his lanky frame, power arm that unleashes a fastball averaging 95 mph, and repertoire that includes three other quality options with a curveball, slider and changeup.
And now the Rays are seeing it.
"He is unique," rotation mate and occasional mentor Chris Archer said. "He's 6-5, he's left-handed, he throws hard, he has three other pitches, four total, that are above-average. There's nobody else in the league who possesses all of those traits. Nobody.
"You see glimpses. But the last 12-13 starts, dating back to last year, he's shown what he's capable of. The numbers speak for themselves, especially considering the level of competition that we play. He can be the elite of the elite. It takes consistency, and you can see it coming. It's coming together."
Added manager Kevin Cash: "He's very special with the weapons that he has, the power, the uniqueness to his pitches, how they balance with each other. I think what has taken him maybe over the hump a little bit more is the mindset that he carries to the ballpark every day now."
The way pitching coach Kyle Snyder sees it, that off-field improvement may be the bigger key.
"The self-analysis, awareness, maturity and growth in being able to look at what he's doing and figure out what he could do to be better," Snyder said. "Bing able to constructively criticize outings that otherwise you would be really happy with was for him a huge step."
Plus, Snell is becoming a smarter pitcher.
"The more that he really focuses on ending at-bats four pitches in I think you're going to see this guy be able to pitch deeper into games with big stuff with the ability to strike guys out and become the guy he knows he's capable of being and the organization knows that we have in terms of the potential, and realize his skill," Snyder said.
With Matt Duffy off the disabled list and back in the lineup, the Rays built an early 4-0 lead with homers by Wilson Ramos, Rob Refnsyder and Daniel Robertson. They got started right away, C.J. Cron singling _ giving him hits in 13 of his last 14 games _ and Ramos hitting a two-out homer, his seventh straight start with an extra-base hit. Refsnyder, making his first start since April 17, took advantage by launching a Drew Pomeranz pitch over the Green Monster to start the third, his first homer since Oct. 1, 2015, a span of 266 at-bats without a homer that was third longest among non-pitchers. Then Robertson, who has been sizzling, went deep to open the fourth.
