Another bad night on the artificial turf turned dramatically. Rafael Devers homered for the sixth consecutive game and Tanner Houck made one of the best starts of his career as the Sox beat the Rays, 5-0, before a crowd of 13,489.
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“All around, one of the best games we’ve played here,” said Cora, whose team had lost 15 of its previous 16 at the Trop.
Bradley could not sustain his excellence, giving up three runs in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth as he relied too heavily on his fastball.
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Houck never wavered in a game that lasted a tidy 2 hours and 8 minutes. He allowed two hits — both singles — and struck out five with one walk over seven innings. His earned run average dropped to 1.94, third lowest in the American League.
“Doing what I expect every time,” said Houck, who has pitched all season with a greater level of focus and confidence than earlier in his career. “Just want to go out there and continue to put my best foot forward for this team.”
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Houck (4-5) wasn’t initially scheduled to start. The Sox planned to bring Garrett Whitlock off the injured list for the game and give their other starters an extra day off.
That plan was scrapped when Whitlock developed elbow pain after a minor league rehab start and has since learned he will likely require surgery.
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Only two Rays reached over the first six innings against Houck and neither advanced beyond first base.
The first was an oddity. Jonathan Aranda was thrown out by shortstop Ceddanne Rafaela on a ground out on a close play in the second inning. The call was confirmed by replay but the review also showed that Rafaela violated the rule on defensive shifts.
Because the play occurred on a three-ball count, it went as a walk as Houck was assessed a ball.
“I just moved on to the next hitter,” said Houck, who struck out Johnny DeLuca and got Richie Palacios on a fly ball to center to end the inning.
Yandy Diaz drove a sinker into right field for a hit with two outs in the third inning but was thrown out trying to turn a single into a double.
Houck had earned some run support at that point and his teammates delivered.
Jarren Duran ended the perfect game with a line drive to left field that rebounded off the wall far enough for his eighth triple. Wilyer Abreu followed with a double down the right field line for a 1-0 lead.
Tyler O’Neill’s sharply hit fly ball to center field was tracked down for the first out but Devers hammered a fastball several rows into the bleachers in left field.
Devers usually reacts matter-of-factly to his home runs. He enjoyed this one, bopping down the line a few steps and flipping his bat.
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“Special moment for sure,” Devers said via a team translator.
It was the 10th homer of the season for Devers and a franchise record for home runs in consecutive games. Mike Trout is the last player to homer in seven consecutive games, that in 2022.
Devers needs homers the next two games to tie the major league record of eight held by Dale Long (1956), Don Mattingly (1987), and Ken Griffey Jr. (1993).
The Sox, now 24-24, are scheduled to face Zack Littell on Tuesday at the Trop. Devers homered off him at Fenway Park last Thursday. Can he match the record?
“I don’t know,” he said. “I leave that to God. I feel like tomorrow I’ll prepare myself and whatever happens happens.”
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The lead went to 5-0 in the fifth inning when David Hamilton singled and Rafaela homered to right field.
The Rays didn’t put another runner on base until Josh Lowe beat the shift with a single down the third base line in the seventh inning. The Sox turned an unusual 6-5-3 double play to end the inning as Rafaela made a slick flip to Devers.
Sox infielders practice that play before games and it paid off.
Devers claimed to be more excited about the double play than his home run.
“The double play for me was a very important play,” he said. “We’ve been making a lot of errors and haven’t been communicating.
“For us to make that play in that situation was huge.”
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Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him @PeteAbe.
