ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays did a lot of good work with their bats on Monday, racking up 14 hits in a 10-5 win over the Red Sox at Tropicana Field. But Brett Phillips was responsible for the most impressive moment of the night, and he made it happen with his glove.

With a one-run lead, a runner on first and nobody out in the second inning, Rays lefty Josh Fleming threw an 0-1 changeup that Trevor Story smoked toward the left-center-field gap with an exit velocity of 96.7 mph.

Phillips, starting in center field, was shaded three steps toward right field. Right off the bat, Phillips knew Story hit it well. But the speedy outfielder got an excellent jump on the ball and took exactly the right angle toward it, flying across center field, then diving to complete one of the most impressive catches of the season.

“Unbelievable,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Philly really came through for us.”

Phillips had to dash 90 feet to make the play, according to Statcast, and he had only 4.7 seconds to cover all that ground. He reached a maximum sprint speed of 29.1 feet per second, per Statcast, just a shade under the “elite” standard of 30 feet per second. Then he flung himself to make up the remaining distance, a highlight-reel grab for the player who leads all MLB outfielders with 10 outs above average this season.

“The angle I took, I knew, lined up towards where it was going to land. But I actually lost it closing in on the ball and picked it back up, and that's when I decided to dive,” Phillips said. “And [left fielder] Luke [Raley] said that the ball actually curled in towards my glove, which was super weird. … He said the ball, as it hit the tip of my glove, it spun towards my [glove] pocket.”

It was a big moment for Phillips, who figures to get a lot of playing time in center field with Kevin Kiermaier sidelined due to left hip inflammation. He said he prefers making catches running to his right, where he can pull off backhand grabs, and placed this particular one in the top three of his career.

“It's very encouraging to go out there and, despite my offensive struggles right now, to be able to contribute on defense and make plays like that to help the team,” Phillips said. “It's very encouraging.”

Phillips had further reason to smile in the eighth inning, when he snapped an 0-for-28 skid at the plate with a ground-ball single to right field. He credited the veteran Kiermaier for pulling him aside in the dugout after his second at-bat of the night, breaking down his swing on an iPad and offering words of encouragement.

“I'm really trying to get better, and that's all I can do,” Phillips said. “Until then, I'm going to go out there and make plays like I did tonight for us.”