Four Tampa Bay Rays hitters drove in multiple runs to support left-hander Ryan Yarbrough, who pitched into the fifth in what ended up being a 9-3 win over the Boston Red Sox.
Yarbrough allowed just two hits and a single run, which came on a Trevor Story sacrifice fly in the top of the third inning, while nearly getting through five full frames.
The Rays turned around on former teammate Rich Hill in the bottom of the inning and scored six runs, taking the lead on a two-run single by Harold Ramirez, his first two RBI in a Rays uniform.
Wander Franco followed with a base hit to move Ramirez into scoring position, and Brandon Lowe plated the DH with a base hit of his own. Manuel Margot made it 4-1 with a RBI double, and two batters later, Austin Meadows extended the lead to 6-1 with a two-run double.
Tampa Bay continued to pur on the offense in the fifth, as back-to-back doubles by Lowe and Margot made the score 7-1, and after another two-base hit by Meadows, Taylor Walls followed with a double of his own, scoring both Margot and Meadows.
The Rays also got scoreless innings of relief from both Andrew Kittredge, who has yet to be scored upon this spring, and Jason Adam, who struck out the side in the seventh.
Kevin Plawecki got the Red Sox back to withing 9-3 in the top of the ninth, hitting a two-run homer off minor-league pitcher Christopher Gau. But Boston could get no closer before the final three outs were made.
Opening Day starter Shane McClanahan will make his final spring start Saturday, as the Minnesota Twins will make the trip up from Fort Myers. Devin Smeltzer will start for the Twins, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
