ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For six innings, Wander Franco put on a show Friday night.
A 389-foot home run with an exit velocity of 109.7 mph in his first at-bat. A hard grounder at 106 mph that was misplayed in the third inning. And a 363-foot homer with an exit velocity of 112.4 mph in his third at-bat, followed by a spectacular running catch of a pop fly down the left-field line by the shortstop.
Yet for all those heroics, the Red Sox elected to challenge the American League’s hit leader in the seventh inning. With first base open and the tying run on second with two outs, reliever Hansel Robles got Franco to fly out to left field.
The Red Sox hung on to beat the Rays, 4-3, in the opener of a nine-game homestand before an announced crowd of 16,902 at Tropicana Field.
The Rays loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, but Brandon Lowe struck out looking and Franco grounded out to second to end it.
It was the end of a frustrating day for the Rays (7-7), who had several staff members test positive for COVID-19 after a six-day trip to Chicago, including catcher Francisco Mejia.
The Rays hit the ball hard throughout the game, but Boston’s defense was perfectly positioned for most of the night. Tampa Bay had another chance to tie it in the eighth, but a high Randy Arozarena fly ball that hugged the left-field line was ruled foul and later upheld by review.
Boston starter Michael Wacha, meanwhile, continued his hot start after a largely uneven performance for the Rays last season.
The 30-year-old veteran has a 1.88 ERA after his first three starts, allowing only six hits in 14 1/3 innings. He didn’t dominate the Rays, getting only four swing-and-misses in 82 pitches, but he kept them from stringing together hits.
Wacha also got a leaping catch from shortstop Xander Bogaerts on a Yandy Diaz line drive with two runners on in the third that likely would have ended up in the outfield gap.
Rays starter Corey Kluber, meanwhile, struggled to get through the first three innings. He gave up hits to nine of the first 15 batters he faced, including a double to Bogaerts and a Rafael Devers homer in the third.
By the time his night was over, Kluber had surrendered 11 hits, the most he had given up in any start in seven years.
Yet for all the baserunners, Kluber limited the damage to four runs and managed to protect the bullpen by going five innings.
