BOSTON -- Rick Porcello's sinker was in top form on Wednesday night at Fenway Park, as he lifted the Red Sox to a 7-3 victory over the Rays.
The righty (3-0, 4.66 ERA) went seven innings while scattering six hits and three runs. Porcello walked one and struck out nine and took a two-hit shutout into the sixth on a night Boston snapped a three-game losing streak..
"The bullpen had a lot of work the past couple of days," said Porcello. "It was definitely paramount to go deep into the game and take a little pressure off them."
• Porcello more confident, effective
Chris Archer wasn't nearly as effective for the Rays, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. The righty's mysterious struggles continued as the Red Sox tagged him for eight hits and six runs over 4 1/3 innings.
The Red Sox played from ahead throughout, scoring three in the first and two in the second. Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, David Ortiz and Travis Shaw all had multihit games for Boston.
"For as quiet as their bats were last night, they sure broke them out today," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "They had like a relentless attack going. Really good approach. You know coming in facing this team they're very capable of doing that. Generally we've pitched well, we just didn't make the best pitches tonight and they were very much in attack mode."
It was a fairly quiet night for the Rays offensively, but Corey Dickerson belted a solo homer.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Red Sox break out fast: The contrast from one game to the next was striking to the Red Sox. After ending Tuesday's game with 23 straight outs, Boston got the offense going right away on Wednesday. The first four batters reached base, highlighted by an RBI single by Bogaerts and a laser beam into the gap in left-center for a two-run double by Ortiz.

"We know what we're capable of," said Bogaerts. "It's not all the nights we're going to have good nights, but our pitching is helping us right now so it's all up to us on the offensive side to keep piling up some runs right now."
Archer's struggles continue: The Rays' ace could not get through the fifth Wednesday night as he moved to 0-4 with a 7.32 ERA in four starts. He has not won a game since Aug. 31 at Baltimore. During that 10-game stretch, he is 0-7 with a 6.39 ERA.

"I'm not happy by any means," Archer said, "but nobody said this game was going to be easy. I'm going to continue to work hard, get better every single day, and I really trust and believe that I'll get past this. It's a tough stretch. ... I'm going to continue to believe in myself and my teammates continue to believe in me. I'm going to be better." More >
Mookie gets groove back: Betts had been in a 2-for-21 rut entering the game, but he was a constant presence in this one. Betts reached base in his first four plate appearances and also ripped a two-run homer and stole a base while scoring three times.

"I felt a lot better," said Betts. "I was able to finally put some good swings on some balls and at least put it in play." More >
Dickerson blasts off: Dickerson hit a solo home run in the sixth, giving him four for the season while perpetuating the idea that the slugger does not hit cheap home runs. On Wednesday night, he homered on a 2-1 pitch from Porcello. The ball was projected by Statcast™ to land 422.47 feet away and had an exit velocity of 106.29 mph.
UNDER REVIEW
Kevin Kiermaier hit a soft grounder to third in the top of the third, and Shaw fired to first. Kiermaier was awarded an infield hit, but it was taken away after Red Sox manager John Farrell challenged the call. Replays showed Hanley Ramirez catching the throw just before Kiermaier's foot hit the bag. The review took approximately one minute and 30 seconds.

INJURY UPDATE
Bogaerts had to leave in the fifth with a strained left quad sustained when he scored from first on a double to right by Ortiz. Brock Holt moved from left field to shortstop to open the sixth, while Chris Young went to left field and took over for Bogaerts in the No. 3 spot in the batting order. Farrell said that taking Bogaerts out was precautionary and he might be back in the lineup on Thursday. More >

QUOTABLE
"You know what? [Archer] might just be in a little bit of a rut." -- Cash, on Archer's plight
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Porcello had started the season retiring 23 straight left-handed batters until Dickerson's double in the fourth.
The Red Sox stole two bases in two attempts Wednesday night, extending Rays catcher Hank Conger's streak to 46 consecutive base thefts allowed. J.B. Shuck of the White Sox was the last basestealer Conger threw out. That happened on May 27.
WHAT'S NEXT
Rays:Jake Odorizzi makes his fourth start of the season after blanking the White Sox for seven innings Friday night. He is 2-2 with a 3.43 ERA in eight career appearances against the Red Sox. Look to see the Rays' offense roll out its right-handed lineup, which should include the hot-hitting Brandon Guyer and Steve Pearce.
Red Sox: Lefty David Price will face a former team for the second straight start. This time, it's the Rays, the team he broke into the Major Leagues with and went 82-47 over seven seasons. Price was dominant last time out against the Jays, walking none and striking out nine over seven innings. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. ET.
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