Snell had his fourth straight solid start./JEFFERY S. KING
Saturday, 2 a.m.
The Tampa Bay Rays keep on winning.
And Blake Snell keeps on starring.
Snell, once a crashing disappointment for the Rays, kept his solid season going Friday night when he led the Rays to a 4-3 win over Boston, a team that had dominated them this season. Snell had a no-hitter until the fifth, and he struck out nine while throwing 7 1/3 innings.
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Ramos hit a two-run homer for the Rays./JEFFREY S. KING
The Rays won their seventh straight game. Snell ran his personal record to 4-1.
Suddenly, it is possible to see Snell as the leader of the staff.
"He certainly looked the part tonight, looked the part of that No. 1, elite, whatever you want to call it,'' manager Kevin Cash said. "He did his job.''
Cash is enjoying the Rays' streak./JEFFREY S. KKNG
Snell's ERA is now 2.52.
One of Snell's big innings was escaping a first- and third-situation in the fourth inning
"I've been learning," Snell said. "I've been growing. I've been getting better. I've been understanding on how to handle it."
Said Cash: "Does Blake Snell get through that last year? I can't say that he does. I'd like to think he does, but I know now that he's capable of doing that, calming the situation down, not letting it snowball."
It was Snell's fourth straight victory and brought the Rays to 11-13 on the season.
"Pretty big outing for him,'' Cash said. "I know he's had some good outings, but to come in and establish the way he did early on, he kind of carved right through their lineup the first time through. To do that, that lineup is so talented … you've got to have everything going and he did tonight."
The Rays took a 4-0 lead and held on. Alex Colome got his fifth save of the season.
Wilson Ramos, Rob Refsnyder and Daniel Robertson all homered to give the Rays their early lead.The Red Sox scored two in the sixth and one in the eight to make it close.
Once again, the Rays hit well. C.J. Cron, Refsnyder and Robertson all had two hits.
It will be difficult for the Rays to win again today. Red Sox starter David Price has thrown 14 shutout innings against Tampa Bay this year. He faces the Rays' Yonny Chirinos in a 4:05 game.
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