The Tampa Bay Rays will look to keep on keeping on in Boston this weekend.

After locking up an 8-4 series-opening win on Thursday, the Rays will shoot for their eighth straight victory and 14th in 15 games when a four-game set against the Red Sox continues on Friday.

The numbers surrounding Tampa Bay’s recent run of play are impressive.

Though the Rays’ pitching staff allowed more than three runs for the first time in 14 games on Thursday, the offense pounded out 13 hits. Tampa Bay took the lead for good on Chandler Simpson’s pinch-hit two-run single in the sixth inning before adding three runs over the final two innings.

“I think we know who we are,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “We’ve gotten to the point where we understand how we can win games. I’m just really pleased. They should be pleased with themselves, the way they have gone about it and found different ways to win games.”

Simpson was the latest offensive hero despite not being in the starting lineup. By adding an insurance RBI triple in the eighth, he secured his 14th multi-hit game in the Rays’ first 37 contests.

It was also a milestone game for Yandy Diaz, who became the 20th Cuban-born player to reach 1,000 career hits. He doubled and scored on Junior Caminero’s homer in the ninth.

“The camaraderie of everybody, just in all facets of the game — pitching, defense, hitting, power, small ball, on the basepaths — it’s all coming together right now,” Simpson said.

Tampa Bay’s Jesse Scholtens (3-1, 3.18 ERA) is set to take the mound from the start on Friday after earning back-to-back wins behind then-opener Griffin Jax, who started on Thursday. Scholtens worked 5 2/3 innings and yielded five runs in his lone start on April 20 against the Cincinnati Reds.

The 32-year-old right-hander pitched three innings of one-run ball to beat the San Francisco Giants on Saturday in his most recent appearance.

Scholtens is 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA in two career appearances against the Red Sox, both as a reliever.

Boston saw its three-game winning streak — tied for its longest this season — end on Thursday.

A Jarren Duran double in the eighth marked the lone extra-base hit of the game for the Red Sox, who have also gone back-to-back games without a homer.

The day also began in a rough manner as left fielder Roman Anthony was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained right hand. The 21-year-old sustained the injury on Monday against the Detroit Tigers.

“I think just getting the news back, understanding that it’s nothing very serious is the best news that we could have gotten,” Anthony said.

Connelly Early (2-2, 3.79 ERA) will start for the Red Sox on Friday. The left-hander will look to bounce back from a rough Saturday start against the Houston Astros in which he allowed five runs on six hits through four innings, tied for his shortest outing of the season.

Early’s latest start and the Thursday series opener were outlier outings amid a stretch of strong Red Sox starting pitching. The Boston rotation has surrendered three runs or fewer in nine of the past 12 games.

The Rays built a 3-0 lead off rookie Jake Bennett in the second inning with a rally that included three hits (two of them infield hits), a walk and an error.

“The damage in the second is kind of what they do,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said of the Rays. “They’re gonna get people on base, put the ball in play, they’re gonna try bunting.”

Early faced the Rays for the first time in his third major league start on Sept. 21, 2025, when he allowed three runs (two earned) in four innings and took the loss.

–Field Level Media

The Miami Marlins will turn to a newcomer as they try to keep their momentum going when they meet the visiting Washington Nationals to begin a three-game series Friday night.

The Marlins called up prospect Robby Snelling to start the game in his major league debut.

“It’s exciting, because Robby (is) a great competitor,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “I think he’s worked really hard, and he’s performed in a manner that he’s very deserving of this opportunity.”

Snelling, a 22-year-old left-hander, went 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA in six starts for Triple-A Jacksonville this year. At the time of his promotion, he was second in the International League in ERA and was tied for second in strikeouts with 44 (in 29 innings). Opponents batted .116 against him.

Snelling joined the Miami organization in the July 2024 trade that sent relievers Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing to the San Diego Padres.

“He’s been on a roll (since) the end of last year, really pitched well this spring again,” McCullough said. “We saw the stuff was there, and he threw the ball well in spring, and he’s done nothing but enhance that with how he’s gone out and thrown the ball and performed to this point in Jacksonville.”

Snelling takes the rotation spot once held by Chris Paddack, who was designated for assignment after going 0-5 with a 7.63 ERA in seven games (six starts).

“It has lined up well, and it’s more than it lining up on the calendar,” McCullough said of tabbing Snelling. “Robby has earned this chance now that it’s open to come up and take that spot.”

Snelling could have a familiar batterymate because catcher Joe Mack made his major league debut earlier in the week after a promotion from Jacksonville.

The Marlins halted a four-game skid with 4-3 walk-off victory against the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.

The Nationals went 3-3 on a homestand that ended Thursday afternoon with a 7-5 victory against the Minnesota Twins. It was Washington’ third win in the past four games.

Of the Nationals’ previous four victories, two came by double-figure margins and two were one-run decisions.

The latest win featured a home run and two doubles from Keibert Ruiz. It was the catcher’s second homer of the season — and first since March 29.

“Just big spots, happy for him,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “Hopefully (he’ll) gain some confidence and keep the momentum going.”

Ruiz said, according to MLB.com, “I’ve been working really hard with the hitting (coaches) here, and they’ve been helping me a lot every single day. I’m grateful for them. To have those results and help the team win, it feels good. I’ve got to keep getting better, keep working hard.”

The Nationals have a feel-good storyline as part of their pitching plans as well. Foster Griffin has made half of his 14 career appearances this year for the Nationals, as the left-hander is in the major leagues for the first time since 2022.

Griffin (3-1, 2.27 ERA) is lined up to be the starting pitcher on Friday vs. Miami, a team he has never faced. He took his first loss on Saturday when he was charged for three unearned runs in six innings against the Milwaukee Brewers. Griffin hasn’t allowed an earned run in either of his past two starts covering a total of 13 innings.

–Field Level Media

The Cleveland Guardians are the only American League Central team with a winning record, sitting one game over .500 after completing 4-3 road trip against the Athletics and Kansas City Royals.

Following victories in the final two contests at Kansas City, the Guardians are back home to begin a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

In the opening contest, Cleveland left-hander Parker Messick (3-1, 2.40 ERA) will take on Twins lefty Connor Prielipp (1-0, 3.86) in a battle of rookies.

Messick absorbed his first loss in his latest start, when he gave up four runs in five innings against the Athletics on Sunday. He pitched adequately in defeat, striking out six without a walk, but was done in by allowing three home runs.

“The thing I like to live on is any pitch is the right pitch in the right spot,” said Messick, who is 6-2 with a 2.56 ERA through 14 major league starts. “And the quicker I can control the tempo in the game, the more I can control.”

The burly hurler has faced the Twins once, working 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball in a no-decision last Sept. 19 in Minnesota. Messick is 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA in seven career home appearances and 3-1 with a 2.52 ERA in seven road starts.

He credits Guardians catchers Austin Hedges, Bo Naylor and David Fry with helping him make a smooth transition to this level. Hedges was behind the plate when Messick came within three outs of a no-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles on April 16.

“Hedgey, he’s the man back there for me,” Messick said. “He’s constantly communicating, sometimes telling me to slow down and sometimes speeding me up when I need it.

“It’s all the guys, really. I’m super blessed to be a young guy on a team with three great catchers.”

Minnesota is midway through a six-game trip, having dropped its final two to the Washington Nationals by a combined 22-7 score to match its low mark of six games under .500.

The Twins’ trip to Washington ended on a very sour note Thursday as starter Simeon Woods Richardson and Anthony Banda combined to hit two batters and walk two more in the fifth inning, leading to three runs and a 7-5 loss.

“We did not play a good baseball game and there are a lot of things we need to improve from it,” Minnesota manager Derek Shelton said. “We can’t hit guys and have free passes. We allowed them to have extra outs, and we can’t do that.”

The Twins went 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position as Brooks Lee drove in two runs and Ryan Jeffers homered and doubled twice, but Shelton also wasn’t pleased with the club’s offense.

Leaving nine runners on base in a two-run game was his primary complaint.

“We had chances, but we gave away outs,” Shelton said. “We had three runners on third base with less than two outs. You have to take advantage of those situations.”

Prielipp, who made his major league debut April 22 against the New York Mets, earned his initial win five days later at home against the Seattle Mariners. He has given up exactly two runs in all three of his starts, totaling 15 strikeouts and five walks over 14 innings.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder is 1-0 with a 3.60 ERA in two outings against AL foes, but this will be his first appearance against the Guardians.

–Field Level Media