Boston’s 13th consecutive win, a 6-1 decision over Tampa Bay on Sunday, pulled the Red Sox level with a franchise mark that has stood since July 1948. The only longer run in club history is the 15-game streak from June 1946.
The third inning is where this one turned, and Boston managed it without a hit. Jahmai Jones scored on a passed ball. Wilyer Abreu came home on a fielder’s choice, and when Junior Caminero’s throw hit Abreu in the back on the slide, every runner advanced. Willson Contreras then scored from third on a Romy Gonzalez ground out. Three runs, no base hits, a 4-1 lead.
Contreras handled the rest of the scoring himself in the fifth, turning on the first pitch he saw and sending it 414 feet to the triangle in center.
Sonny Gray took care of the other half. He worked six innings, allowed one run on five hits, struck out five and walked four. It was his ninth straight quality start, and he has not surrendered more than three runs in an outing since April 14. He is 12-1.
Tampa Bay’s only run arrived early and strangely. Victor Mesa Jr. hit an inside-the-park home run in the second for a 1-0 lead, which Andruw Monasterio erased with an RBI double in the bottom half.
Shane McClanahan took the loss, giving up six runs, four of them earned, on five hits across five innings.
Boston stays home from here. The 10-game homestand continues with three against Baltimore, Payton Tolle opposite Shane Baz in the opener.
