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Rays-Red Sox Preview

Jul 31, 2015 - 6:41 PM If not for one pitch, Erasmo Ramirez might still be amid an impressive stretch that dates back to May.

The Tampa Bay Rays right-hander will try to get back on track Friday night against the Boston Red Sox.

Ramirez (8-4, 3.74 ERA) had yielded two runs or fewer in nine consecutive starts, matching the second-longest streak in franchise history, while going 6-1 with a 1.29 ERA entering Saturday's game against Baltimore.

He went a season-high 7 1-3 innings but gave up five runs - his most since May 24 - with nearly all of that damage coming on Chris Davis' grand slam in the third en route to a 5-1 loss.

"I didn't execute a couple pitches in that inning, and that got me in trouble," Ramirez said. "After that hit I put it out of my mind, just tried to get deep into the game."

Ramirez will next face a team that's lost 12 of 15, but the Red Sox (45-58) are batting .328 with 33 runs in their last five games following an 8-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

David Ortiz and Xander Bogaerts each had three hits while combining to drive in three runs. Ortiz is batting .429 with 13 RBIs in his last seven games, and Bogaerts is hitting .386 this month.

Ortiz is 0 for 3 with four walks against Ramirez, who has a 6.94 ERA in three starts against the Red Sox and failed to pitch past the fifth inning in each.

He'll start opposite Eduardo Rodriguez (6-3, 4.26), who will face Tampa Bay for the first time. The rookie left-hander allowed one run and three hits in seven innings in an 11-1 rout of Detroit on Sunday, six days after getting ripped for seven runs in 1 2-3 innings of an 11-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

Rodriguez has been ripped for at least six runs in each of his three losses, lasting a combined 10 innings, but he's surrendered no more than two runs in any of his other eight starts.

"This has been an interesting roughly two months that he's been here," manager John Farrell told MLB's official website. "He's been challenged at times in between the lines, and it's the greatest teacher that we have.

"There's been some adjustments in his delivery. That's an ongoing situation, and he continues to adapt and evolve. It shows his aptitude and his attitude to make those adjustments."

It's unclear if Pablo Sandoval will start after he exited Thursday's win when he was hit on the left forearm while striking out. Sandoval, batting .176 in his last 10 games, left a 9-2 loss to the White Sox on Wednesday because of dehydration.

"He's sore right now," Farrell said. "That was a fastball that chased him. It looked like it might have hit him in the throat if he didn't take it in the wrist on the swing. A scary moment. The scan here at the ballpark is clean, but he's still day to day."

Sandoval has hit .152 in 12 career games against Tampa Bay and Ortiz is batting .167 in his last 21 matchups.

Evan Longoria, meanwhile, is hitting .375 with three homers and four doubles in an eight-game hit streak against Boston.

The Rays (51-52), who have lost 11 of 14 on the road, traded reliever Kevin Jepsen to Minnesota on Friday for two minor league pitchers.