The Red Sox were back at Fenway Park on Thursday night after sweeping the Tigers in Detroit, opening a seven-game homestand against the Rays with Jake Bennett on the mound for his second start. The game was scheduled to be broadcast on, and fans were told to be in their seats by 6:40 p.m. for pregame ceremonies that honored the 2026 Red Sox Hall of Fame class.
Bennett, who won his first start last Friday by holding the Astros to a solo home run and stranding six of seven baserunners across five innings in a 3-1 win, was matched against Griffin Jax as Boston tried to build on a three-game winning streak. The Red Sox entered Thursday night at 16-21, while the Rays came in at 24-12 and riding a six-game winning streak after consecutive three-game sweeps at home over the Giants and Blue Jays. Tampa Bay was also a half-game behind the Yankees and carried the second-best record in the American League.
Boston’s pregame focus went beyond the standings. The club was honoring Johnny Damon, Jon Lester, Mike Timlin and the late Sherm Feller as part of the 2026 Hall of Fame class, and Bill Mueller’s home run on July 24, 2004 was being recognized as this year’s Memorable Moment. It gave the opener of the four-game series against the Rays a ceremony-heavy start before the teams settled into a matchup that also came with a three-game series against the Phillies next week.
The pitching matchup also brought a small but meaningful edge for Boston. Jax had gone 0-1 with a 7.27 ERA in 14 career appearances, including one start, against the Red Sox, a number that left the home club with a familiar reason to believe it could keep pace even against one of the American League’s hottest teams. Boston had also won Wednesday night in a game where it struck out at least 15 times and had four or fewer hits, only the third such nine-inning win in franchise history, a reminder that its recent results have not always looked clean but have still added up.
For the Red Sox, the night was about whether the streak could survive a tougher test. They had returned home with momentum, but the Rays arrived with the better record, the longer winning streak and the stronger underlying numbers. That made the first game of the homestand less about ceremony once the first pitch was thrown and more about whether Boston could turn a good week into something more lasting.