BOSTON — Rookie right-hander Anthony Ranaudo ended his season on a high note, overcoming a shaky start and pitching the Boston Red Sox to an 11-3 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.
Ranaudo, one of seven rookies to start the game for Boston, gave up two runs in the first inning but settled down to snap a personal three-game losing streak that began after he beat the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Aug. 29.
The 2014 International League pitcher of the year went on to finish seven innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He finishes his season with a 4-3 record and 4.81 ERA in seven major league starts.
Shortstop Xander Bogaerts drove in three runs and combined with right fielder Daniel Nava for back-to-back, two-run hits in a five-run fourth inning that broke a 2-2 tie and knocked out Tampa Bay starter Jake Odorizzi (11-13).
Rookie third baseman Garin Cecchini led off the second inning with his first major league home run, and rookie left fielder Bryce Brentz added two hits for Boston.
It was the first time the Red Sox started seven rookies in a game since Sept. 25, 1971. They finished the game with only one non-rookie in the field.
The Red Sox (69-89) scored four more runs in the sixth, three of them on bases-loaded walks and the fourth on a passed ball on the third walk. The walks were drawn by center fielder Rusney Castillo, catcher Christian Vazquez and second baseman Mookie Betts. It was Castillo’s first RBI in six big league games.
Tampa Bay pitchers threw 206 pitches, 181 through the first six innings.
Designated hitter Ben Zobrist had two hits, including an RBI double in the ninth inning, for the Rays (76-82). With the loss, Tampa Bay will finish with a sub-.500 record.
The Rays jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Right fielder Wil Myers chased home the first run with a long double, and second baseman Nick Franklin hit a sacrifice fly.
The Red Sox tied it in the second, when Cecchini led off with his home run. Brentz and Vazquez singled, Brentz winding up on third, and Bogaerts hit a sacrifice fly.
Brentz opened the home fourth with a long double, and Vazquez walked. Betts loaded the bases with a sharp single, and that was all for Odorizzi. Bogaerts greeted reliever Brandon Gomes with a two-run single off the wall in left field. Nava then doubled in two more runs, and it was 6-2.
A wild pitch delivered another run, and before the inning was over, the Rays had also lost catcher Curt Casali to a foul tip off the mask. He was diagnosed with a concussion. Casali was a late starter because Ryan Hanigan had a sore right big toe.
Odorizzi (11-13) struck out three in the first inning and didn’t add a strikeout after that, finishing his season one short of tying Matt Moore’s 2012 club rookie strikeout record of 175. He gave up five runs on seven hits in three-plus innings.
NOTES: Red Sox DH David Ortiz sat out Wednesday night due to soreness that resulted from a swing Tuesday. … Boston 3B Will Middlebrooks remained out with a sprained right hand, but SS Xander Bogaerts (stiff neck) returned to the lineup. … Rays SS Yunel Escobar, who sprained his left knee Tuesday night and won’t play again this season, was sent back to Tampa for an MRI exam. … Tampa Bay RHP Jeremy Hellickson, who earned his only victory of the season Aug. 6, pitches the series finale Thursday against Boston RHP Allen Webster. … There was no batting practice as the Red Sox held their Photo Day, with fans lining up around the field two hours before game time.