BOSTON — Manager John Farrell made no secret of what Shane Victorino would mean to the Boston Red Sox lineup when he made it back from the disabled list.
The right fielder, who suffered a hamstring injury late in spring training, debuted last week — but made his first serious impact Tuesday night.
He went 4-for-4 with a sacrifice fly and two RBIs in Boston’s 7-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
“We knew it was going to take a couple of games for him to get his feet on the ground, which it has,” said Farrell. “He does give us a completely different dynamic in that two-hole (in the lineup).
“When we can set the table for that middle of the order, we’ve got a chance to score some runs.”
Victorino was just 2-for-15 coming into Tuesday night’s game and started his big night with the softest of singles just over the infield.
Wednesday night’s Red Sox game against the Rays was postponed due to rain and has been rescheduled as the first game of a day-night doubleheader at 1:05 p.m. Thursday. The second game will begin at 7:10 p.m.
Red Sox left-hander Felix Doubront and Rays right-hander Chris Archer, who were scheduled to oppose each other on Wednesday, will likely take the mound in Thursday’s afternoon tilt. Boston right-hander Jake Peavy and Tampa Bay left-hander Cesar Ramos are scheduled for the nightcap.
Lackey improve to 4-2
Right-handed pitcher John Lackey followed his brilliant 11-strikeout outing against the Yankees with another strong outing — his second straight eight-inning effort. He allowed two runs on six hits in raising his record to 4-2. It is the first time this season a Red Sox starter has gone eight innings in two straight starts — and he’s pitched very well in cold weather.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had a lot of experience (pitching in the cold) lately, in the last month or so,” said Lackey, who added, “but tonight was probably the worst that it’s been, honestly, as far as kind of feeling the baseball, being cold out there. But I got through — the guys played great defense behind me and we had a big inning.”
Strong games for Bradley, Pierzynski
Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. had a pair of doubles Tuesday night. That gave him nine extra-base hits in April, the most by a Red Sox rookie since Shea Hillenbrand had 12 in 2001. His defense has been superb and he raised his batting average to .244 with Tuesday’s 2-for-4.
Catcher A.J. Pierzynski got the start against left Erik Bedard for two reasons: he was 9-for-21 lifetime against Bedard and he had developed chemistry with Lackey. Pierzynski singled home the tie-breaking run in the sixth inning and has seven RBIs in his last five games, including a grand slam in Toronto. The last three times he has knocked in a run have put his team ahead.
NOTEBOOK: Mike Napoli reached base a career-high 22 straight games, going 1-for-3 with two walks on Tuesday. His 22 straight is the second-longest active streak in the majors. … Shortstop Xander Bogaerts had his 11-game hitting streak, the longest by a 21-year-old Red Sox player since Tony Conigliaro, in 1966, stopped. He also committed his fourth error of the season, on a throw in the ninth.