ST. PETERSBURG -- On a night when the offense broke loose, Blake Snell grabbed the spotlight in the Rays' 6-3 win over the Red Sox on Thursday night at Tropicana Field.
The win snapped the Rays' three-game losing streak, and they improved to 23-25 on the season as they head into a weekend series against last-place Baltimore.
Snell continues to find excellence every time out, and he followed suit in his 11th start of the season.
"Blake looked really good against them, like the last time up in Fenway," manager Kevin Cash said. "Kind of set the tone [with] the first at-bat with Mookie [Betts], that he was going to come right after guys. He did that. And then the fifth inning rolled around, his pitch count got up. I thought he lost the command of the fastball, a little bit uncharacteristic walk here and there. But really, really good performance by Blake."
The left-hander held the Red Sox scoreless on three hits and two walks while striking out eight in six innings to move to 6-3 on the season while dropping his ERA to 2.78. In addition, he dropped his home ERA, from 1.07 to 0.86. Eight of his last nine starts have been quality starts.
"First four innings [I was] very happy with, being in the zone, attacking," said Snell, who allowed that he began to struggle a little in his final two innings when he tried to "place the ball" on the corner "instead of just throwing it to the catcher."
Snell didn't need much help, but the bats provided plenty of firepower, scoring two in the first and three in the second against Rick Porcello to take a 5-0 lead.

"Defense played good, offense early, patient at-bats, good at-bats," Snell said. "When you get that comfort, it makes it a lot easier pitching with a lead. And having Wilson [Ramos] behind the plate, there's no question. Whatever he wants, I throw. I feel like we're on the same page, for the most part."
Ramos, who had to leave Tuesday night's game with a contusion of his left hand, returned to the lineup to lead an offense that spread the wealth. Ramos went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Leadoff hitter Denard Span caused havoc with a double, a single and two walks, scoring three times.

"Porcello's really good. To be able to get his pitch count up and capitalize on some opportunities, we talked about that before the game -- that it would be nice if we were able to accomplish that, and we did that," Cash said. "A lot of good at-bats. Wilson Ramos' at-bats were really good. ... Our offense [piled] up some runs early [to] give us some breathing room."
ADAMES OPTIONED
As expected, Willy Adames was optioned back to Triple-A Durham following the game, and infielder Joey Wendle was reinstated from the paternity list. Adames, who is the Rays' No. 2 prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline, had a single and a homer in his three games with the Rays.
"It's been pretty fun," Adames said. "Finally, we got the win tonight. This experience has been good for me. Calmed me down. Because when you're in Triple-A, you want to get here. So I got here, played three games. Now I'm more calm. I know more of the guys over here. And I know what to do on the field."
HE SAID IT
"Trying to get some nachos." -- Span, who twice went into the stands attempting to catch foul balls
"It was good we had Raymond out there the second time to help him up." -- Cash, on the second time Span went into the stands, this time in front of the team mascot, Raymond

MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
The Rays tried to extend their lead in the bottom of the sixth when Matt Duffy attempted to score from second on a grounder. Red Sox first baseman Mitch Moreland fired home, and Duffy was initially ruled safe, But after the Red Sox challenged, the replay official ruled that Sandy Leon tagged Duffy's right leg before Duffy touched home.

UP NEXT
Sergio Romo will get the starting nod on Friday night when the Rays open a three-game series against the Orioles in a 7:10 ET contest at Tropicana Field. Romo started two games against the Angels last weekend as the Rays continue to try different ways to effectively use their staff. The Orioles have not yet named their starter.