Nelson Cruz hit two home runs and, at age 41, became the player of oldest in major league history to hit 30 home runs in a season, powering the Tampa Bay Rays to beat the Boston Red Sox 12-7 on Tuesday night.
Mike Zunino also hit two home runs and Jordan Luplow connected for the team with the best record in the American League and the highest-scoring club in the majors.
The rookie of the Rays, Wander Franco, went 0 for 4 with a walk, extending his on-base streak to 37 games and passing Mickey Mantle (1951-52) the longest for a league player. American League under 21 years of age. Franco, 20, is now only behind Frank Robinson, who came in 43 straight in 1956.
One day after the The Rays will need to rebound from a six-run deficit to beat Boston 11-10 in 10 innings. they slid to an 11-1 lead and won their seventh straight road game.
Tampa Bay increased its lead in the AL East Division nine and a half games over New York. The Red Sox again lost an opportunity to overtake the Yankees for the first wild-card spot in the American League.