Rick Porcello took a shutout into the eighth inning, Mookie Betts hit his 22nd home run and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 on Saturday night. The win reduced Boston’s magic number for clinching a playoff spot to six and kept its AL East lead over the New York Yankees at three games. It was the eighth win in 10 games for the Red Sox.
Chris Sale allowed two hits in eight innings and struck out 13, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-0 on Tuesday for their seventh straight victory. Sale (14-4) reached double digits in strikeouts for the 15th time this season, the first time that’s been done since Randy Johnson in 2002.
Seattle’s Robinson Cano hit a leadoff home run in the 10th inning off Wade Davis of the Chicago Cubs, and the American League topped the National League 2-1 in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night. It was the first extra-inning home run in an All-Star Game since Tony Perez hit one exactly 50 years ago – July 11, 1967. Perez threw out one of the ceremonial first pitches before Tuesday’s game.
