Red Sox beat Rays to sweep doubleheader, extend win streak to 11 games

Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald on Jul 17, 2026

Published in Baseball

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There was a time not long ago where the Red Sox falling into an early two-run hole would have been a death sentence. The Red Sox weren’t a team built to play from behind, and the club often struggled to mount any kind of response whenever an opposing team landed a blow.

But after the Tampa Bay Rays took a quick lead in the top of the first on Friday, they were on the canvas before they knew what hit them.

Wilyer Abreu hit two home runs to help the Red Sox beat the Rays 5-3 and complete the doubleheader sweep. The first was a game-tying two-run home run in the bottom of the first and the second a go-ahead solo shot in the third mere moments after Tampa Bay knotted the score.

Willson Contreras also returned from his five-game suspension in style, going back-to-back with Abreu in the first with a go-ahead solo shot of his own, helping Boston extend its winning streak to a season-high 11 games.

“It was a great day,” said Chad Tracy, who is now 38-31 since taking over as Red Sox interim manager. “Two very well played games, two very well pitched games and big swings in big moments, it was a very good day for us.”

For the first time since March 28, the Red Sox are back to .500 on the year at 48-48.

“It means a lot. Everybody starts to feel the vibe, the fans today, that was amazing,” Abreu said. “Since the start of the game everybody was cheering, everyone was amazing supporting us, so we tried to give them a really good game and I think we did.”

Red Sox starting pitcher Eduardo Rivera started efficiently with two quick outs but found himself in a long slog through the rest of the first inning. He allowed a weakly hit single to Junior Caminero, two full-count walks to load the bases and then a two-run single to Johnny DeLuca, with the two remaining baserunners advancing to scoring position on an ill-advised throw home.

Rivera ultimately escaped after 36 pitches without further damage, but the Red Sox only needed 16 pitches of their own to jump in front.

Ceddanne Rafaela got the Red Sox started with a one-out double down the left field line. That set the table for Abreu, who got ahold of a 1-1 changeup down the middle and watched as it sailed over the bullpens and into the right-field stands.

Conteras followed by mashing a fastball over the Green Monster for his 21st home run of the season. That made it 3-2 Red Sox and gave the club their fourth back-to-back home runs of the season, the first since Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Caleb Durbin did it on June 18 against the Blue Jays.

“Feels good to be back,” Contreras said. “Especially helping the team win, and with the 11 game wining streak it feels amazing, the energy here in the team is really great and the atmosphere in Fenway is amazing. I’m happy to be back for sure.”

Rivera settled down with a 1-2-3 second but ran into trouble again when he faced off for the second time against Caminero. The All-Star slugger obliterated a changeup for a solo home run that just barely stayed fair down the left-field line, tying the game at 3-3 and ending the rookie left-hander’s day after 2 1/3 innings.

Once again the Red Sox wasted no time offering a response.

Abreu led off the bottom of the third with another towering home run to almost the exact same spot in the right field bleachers. It was his 13th home run of the season and gave him his sixth career multi-homer game.

“He took two really big at-bats and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come,” Tracy said. “When he gets hot he can go for a while.”

The Red Sox extended the lead in the fourth on a deep fly ball by Anthony Seigler, who barely missed a homer of his own but settled for an RBI double after the hard hit line drive bounced off the short wall in the right field corner.

Boston’s bullpen collectively took care of business from there. Greg Weissert, Jovani Moran, Tyron Guerrero, Garrett Whitlock, Justin Slaten and Aroldis Chapman combined for 6 2/3 shutout innings aided by a pair of well-timed double plays by the defense in the fourth and seventh innings.

With 11 straight wins the Red Sox are now approaching historic territory. In the century-plus history of the franchise, the Red Sox have only ever ran off 25 win streaks of 10 games or more, and over the past 30 seasons they’ve reached 11 straight just four times, most recently from Sept. 15-25, 2016.

The longest win streak in Red Sox history is 15, which the club accomplished during the 1946 season.

The most recent double-digit win streak before the current one came just prior to last season’s All-Star break, but that stretch was followed immediately by a 1-4 skid, including two straight losses to start the second half against the Cubs.

By avoiding a similar stumble the Red Sox passed a crucial test, and now by successfully carrying their momentum through the break the club has an opportunity to clinch a series win over the American League’s top team.

Boston will go for 12 straight wins Saturday. Weather permitting, first pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m.

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