Price, Ortiz Carry Red Sox To Sweep Rays, 4-0
BOSTON -- David Price shut down his former team Sunday afternoon, striking out 10 over eight scoreless innings to lead the Boston Red Sox past the Tampa Bay Rays 4-0 at Fenway Park.
Price, who is in the first year of a seven-year, $217 million contract with the Red Sox, gave up just four hits and a walk to the team he spent his first 6 1/2 seasons with.
It was the first scoreless outing in a Boston uniform for Price (9-6), who allowed fewer than two runs in only two starts entering Sunday. Price's season ERA dropped to 4.34.
David Ortiz slugged a two-run homer, his 22nd of the season, and Mookie Betts added a pair of RBIs as Boston (49-38) picked up a fourth straight win and its seventh in nine July games.
New reliever Brad Ziegler, acquired from Arizona the day before following Craig Kimbrel's injury, struck out two in a scoreless ninth in his Red Sox debut.
Rays starter Jake Odorizzi (3-5) coughed up four runs in the first two innings but nothing more. He gave up six hits and one walk with four strikeouts over five innings.
Tampa Bay (34-54) suffered its sixth loss in a row and its 22nd in the last 25 games, a franchise-worst stretch. The AL East's last-place team hasn't been above .500 since May 20.
Betts singled to lead off the Boston first, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. Bogaerts brought him home with a slicing sacrifice fly after Dustin Pedroia's double put runners in scoring position.
Ortiz followed with his homer, which landed in the first row of the Green Monster seats in left.
The Rays put pressure on Price in their first, as Evan Longoria doubled and Brandon Guyer reached on a hit-by-pitch, but Logan Morrison struck out swinging to end the frame.
Tampa Bay didn't put a runner on second base after that.
Betts blooped a single into right to plate Sandy Leon for Boston's final run in the second.
