Rays 7, Red Sox 2
John Jaso’s three-run homer off John Lackey in the second inning provided Tampa Bay with all the offense it needed and the Rays continued to chip away at Boston’s lead in the wild-card standings with a 7-2 victory over the Red Sox on Friday night in the first of a three-game set at St. Petersburg, Fla.
Wade Davis (10-8) limited Boston to six hits in the complete-game victory.
Tampa Bay trails Boston by 5½ games and has six more games against the Red Sox on the schedule. The Red Sox, who trail the Yankees by 2 1/2 games in the American League East, have lost seven of nine.
Boston, which already has four members of its starting rotation on the mend, played without Kevin Youkilis. The third baseman returned to Boston to have an MRI exam on his left hip and another possible injury to his groin.
Lackey (12-12) left with a contusion on his leg after getting hit with a line drive off the bat of Jaso. He allowed five runs on five hits in three ineffective innings to get the loss.
Evan Longoria and Jaso both finished with two hits for Tampa Bay.