Andriese turns in dazzling start vs. Red Sox

ST. PETERSBURG -- Flexibility has been critical for Matt Andriese this season. He's been a starter and reliever at Triple-A Durham and the big league level.

On Saturday afternoon, Andriese had his finest moment of the season when he started and got the decision in the Rays' 4-1 win over the Red Sox at Tropicana Field.

"You know, bouncing back and forth is a little tough just to get into a rhythm," Andriese said. "Getting the last three starts in a row, it's good to get on a good routine that you can build off each outing."

Andriese appeared flawless by holding the Red Sox scoreless to one hit through six innings. He retired the first 11 batters he faced before Xander Bogaerts shot a single into right with two outs in the fourth.

That would be all the Red Sox could muster off Andriese, whose line showed one hit and five strikeouts in a career-high six-inning performance that moved him to 3-2 on the season.

"[Andriese] made some really good pitches," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "He got a lot of quick outs, and their guy did, too. Seemed like a pretty good dual going with both of their starts. The game was moving. You could tell he was just pounding the strike zone, man."

Red Sox manager John Farrell echoed Cash.

"[Andriese] challenged us throughout the time he was on the mound and beat us," Farrell said. "With that many strikes, he stayed out of the middle of the plate, for the most part, and he's a very good strike thrower. And to sit back and wait, he's filling up the strike zone, so you've got to chase him out of the zone."

Since the Rays recalled Andriese on June 12, he is 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA, which has lowered his season ERA from 4.79 to 3.24.

"I felt great about [the outing]," Andriese said. "I went out there, threw a lot of strikes and got ahead of hitters and let the defense play. Just a good win overall."

Despite Andriese's performance, Cash said it was a no-brainer to bring in the bullpen troops even though Andriese had thrown just 70 pitches.

"That's kind of been our M.O. the whole season -- especially when we got the lead," Cash said.

Jake McGee, Kevin Jepsen and Brad Boxberger got the final nine outs of the game.

"It just kind of worked out kind of perfectly today," Cash said.