Trevor Story hit a home run in the sixth inning and later scored the winning run on Jarren Duran’s single in the eighth, helping the Boston Red Sox defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Story started the eighth inning with a single off Drew Rasmussen (0-2). After stealing both second and third base, he scored when Duran hit a ground ball to right field past the infield.
“That’s fun,” Story said. “I feel like that’s the type of baseball we can play.” Before this game, Boston had lost nine out of its last ten games on the road.
Justin Slaten (6-2) got out of a tough situation in the seventh inning, where the Rays had runners on first and third with no outs, earning the win. Kenley Jansen, the fifth Red Sox reliever, pitched the ninth inning and secured his 27th save in 31 opportunities.
Jansen was briefly checked after walking Austin Shenton on four pitches with two outs but continued to play. He also walked Taylor Walls but struck out Logan Driscoll on a 3-2 pitch to finish the game.
“He’s been dealing with some shoulder stuff,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “It felt like he was favoring it or whatever you want to call it. I checked with him, and he’s like ‘I am good to go.’ We’ll know more tonight or tomorrow and we’ll see where we’re at.”
Boston is now four games behind Minnesota for the last AL wild card, while the Rays are six games back. Both teams have ten games left and need to pass Seattle and Detroit as well.
The Red Sox will begin a three-game series against the Twins on Friday night at Fenway Park.
Before Story’s home run, Boston had only one baserunner against Ryan Pepiot. Story tied the game at 1-1 with his lead-off homer in the sixth inning.
Pepiot set a career high with 12 strikeouts in six innings. He struck out the side on nine pitches in the fifth inning, marking the fourth immaculate inning in team history and the first since José Alvarado did it against Milwaukee on August 4, 2017.
