Brian Johnson Settles In After Rough Start, Leads Sox Past Rays

Brian Johnson turned in a solid performance and Xander Bogaerts led the Red Sox offense with three hits, including a two-run triple, as the Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 at Fenway Park on Friday night.

Johnson ran into trouble in the first inning, allowing a two-run double to Joey Wendle and an RBI single to Carlos Gomez.

After that, Johnson settled in and silenced the Rays offense. He allowed just the three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out two over 5.2 innings.

Bogaerts cut the Red Sox deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the first with a triple that scored Andrew Benintendi and J.D. Martinez.

He now has 74 RBIs, second-most on the team, and his 3-for-4 night at the plate raised his batting average .280.

Eduardo Nunez, Mitch Moreland and J.D. Martinez each chipped in an RBI single for the Red Sox.

Jackie Bradley Jr. contributed a double that scored Blake Swihart in the sixth.

Bradley added a defensive gem in the third as he raced to the wall in left-center and timed his leap perfectly to rob Tommy Pham of an extra-base hit.

The Red Sox have won 12 of their last 14 games and 16 of their past 19.

Davis Price will be opposed by Tyler Glasnow when the Red Sox take on the Rays Saturday night in Boston.

Price is 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA in his past five starts.