Rays win 7th straight to get back in wild card chase
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stymied by Jon Lester early, the Tampa Bay Rays finally got to him in the fifth.
Carlos Pena and Ben Francisco hit back-to-back homers in the three-run fifth as the surging Rays downed the Boston Red Sox, 4-2, in the finale of a brief two-game set.
The red-hot Rays have won seven straight and sit three games behind the Oakland Athletics, who defeated the Texas Rangers on Wednesday, for the AL's second wild card spot.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I want it to be exactly like last year," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "It's starting to look a lot like Christmas. We've just been playing so well. The mantra is one game at a time.
Alex Cobb (10-9) struck out five and allowed a run on three hits and three walks over five frames to pick up the win, while Fernando Rodney fired a scoreless ninth and notched his 45th save of the season.
Lester (9-14) held the Rays hitless over the first 4 1/3 innings until Jeff Keppinger lined a single into left field. In all, Lester fanned five and surrendered three runs on four hits and a walk over six frames for Boston, which has dropped six of its last seven contests.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It's the first time that Boston has finished under .500 at Fenway Park since 1997.
"We didn't walk off many and we didn't score enough runs here. We have a lot stored up for next year," Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said of his team's struggles at home this season.
Following Keppinger's base hit, Pena smashed a two-run shot off the back wall in dead center field and Francisco then launched a solo blast over the Green Monster in left field for a 3-1 Rays advantage.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Red Sox got a run back in the sixth when James Loney lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, but Tampa Bay regained its two-run cushion in the seventh on a Jose Lobaton one-hop, ground-rule RBI double over the short wall in right-center field.
Wade Davis fanned two during a 1-2-3 seventh, while Joel Peralta spun a scoreless eighth.
Earlier, the Red Sox struck first in the second when Daniel Nava slapped two- out RBI single to right field.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
Boston's Dustin Pedroia stole two bases, which gave him 100 for his career ... To conclude the season-long 100th anniversary celebration of Fenway Park, Boston unveiled its 40-man, All-Fenway team as part of a pregame ceremony ... The Red Sox finished 34-47 at Fenway this year, their worst home mark since 1965.