by Steve Carney

Alex Cobb had a rough two-inning stint, but the offense more than made up for it, as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox 6-3 at Charlotte Sports Park Monday.

Cobb got off to a rough start, as Dustin Pedroia mashed a massive home run to left on the first pitch he saw to give Boston a 1-0 lead.

Tampa Bay countered in the bottom half of the frame, as Desmond Jennings and Matt Joyce worked back-to-back one-out walks off Alfredo Aceves before Yunel Escobar scorched a pitch down the left-field line for a one-out double to make it 2-1.

Cobb could not hold the lead, though, as Ryan Sweeney started the second inning with a sharp single, and came all the way around to score two batters later when Mike Carp doubled to right.

The remained 2-2 until the fourth inning, when Jose Molina started a rally with a one-out walk off reliever Chris Hernandez.  James Loney followed up with a single, and Ryan Roberts brought in both runners with a double for a 4-2 lead.

Joyce followed up with an RBI single to extend the lead to 5-2.

Tampa Bay added to their lead in the seventh, as Cole Figueroa doubled to start the inning.  After Hak-Ju Lee struck out, he moved to third on a single by Leslie Anderson, and scored on a groundout by pinch-hitter Jose Lobaton.

Boston managed to scratch across a run in the eighth against Neil Schenk thanks to an RBI single by Jose Igleasias, but stranded two runners at the end of the frame.

Tampa Bay welcomes in the Houston Astros to Charlotte Sports Park on Tuesday, with reigning Cy Young Award winner David Price taking on Jordan Lyles.  First pitch is scheduled for 1:05.