ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tim Wakefield allowed one run over six innings and Kevin Youkilis hit a three-run homer to lead the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 7-1 on Friday night.
Wakefield (12-9) gave up six hits and three walks, striking out seven as he won for the fifth time in six starts. The knuckleballer improved to 17-2 against the Devil Rays, the most wins by a Tampa Bay opponent. He is 8-0 at Tropicana Field.
"I like pitching here," Wakefield said. "I like pitching inside. The ball seems to move a lot more in a dome."
Wakefield is surprised about his success against the Rays.
"I had no idea that was the case," Wakefield said. "I'm excited about that. It's not an automatic win against these guys. They've got a pretty good lineup over there."
While Boston has won seven of eight, the Devil Rays have lost seven in a row, getting outscored 71-21. Tampa Bay is 5-24 since June 25.
Jason Hammel (1-1) threw five scoreless innings, then was pulled after allowing consecutive one-out walks in the sixth. Youkilis, in an 0-for-11 slide, gave Boston a 3-1 lead with his three-run drive off Juan Salas.
Boston loaded the bases later in the sixth, but right fielder Delmon Young made a running catch on Coco Crisp's two-out liner.
Hammel retired his first 11 batters before David Ortiz lined a single to right with two outs in the fourth. Making his second start and 12th appearance overall of the season, Hammel gave up two runs and one hit in 5 1-3 innings.
Dioner Navarro put the Devil Rays up 1-0 with an RBI single in the second. Tampa Bay wasted a chance for a big inning when Carl Crawford hit an inning-ending grounded out with the bases loaded.
Crisp had a two-run double during a four-run eighth that made it 7-1. J.D. Drew, who stopped an 0-for-12 skid, and Doug Mirabelli had RBI singles.
Note: Julio Lugo went 0-for-4, which ended his career-high 15-game hitting streak.