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CLE@BOS: Buchholz on his outing against the Indians

The Red Sox are red hot as they roll into St. Petersburg to begin a two-game series with the Rays on Wednesday.

Boston has won five in a row and is coming off a 5-1 homestand at Fenway Park. Red Sox starters Felix Doubront, Daniel Bard, Jon Lester and Josh Beckett allowed a total of three runs in the last four games, and the Sox have outscored their opponents 27-3 in that span.

"If they keep throwing the ball like that, we're going to run off a lot in a row, hopefully we can keep it going," said second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "We've been playing good, so we've just got to keep it rolling. We've got to continue to play well and find ways to win games."

Clay Buchholz gets the ball on Wednesday looking to continue Boston's recent stretch of strong starting pitching.

The right-hander allowed four runs (three earned) over 6 1/3 innings Friday, beating Cleveland to improve to 4-1 on the season.

"He's obviously building on a good one, so hopefully it will continue to build," said manager Bobby Valentine.

The Rays lost three of four games at Fenway Park in April, but they get the Red Sox at home for the first time this season. Tampa Bay is 13-3 at Tropicana Field, the best home record in the American League.

The Rays are returning home from an eight-game road trip and will play their next eight games on their home turf. Tampa Bay is coming off a two-game sweep in Toronto after dropping four of five games to start the road trip.

Jeremy Hellickson starts for Tampa Bay after a strong outing against the Orioles on Friday, when he allowed three runs over 6 2/3 innings. He's 3-0 this season with a 2.95 ERA in seven starts.

The right-hander is 2-1 with a 4.99 ERA in six career appearances against Boston. He allowed five runs on three home runs in five innings against the Red Sox on April 14.

Red Sox: Aviles improving with glove
Shortstop Mike Aviles was thought to be a downgrade defensively from Boston's previous shortstop, Marco Scutaro, but that hasn't been the case so far this season.

Valentine praised Aviles' work with the glove before Tuesday's game with the Mariners, and in the second inning, Aviles made a diving play up the middle.

"I think I'm playing pretty solid," Aviles said. "My main focus is just to come out and make the routine plays. I'm not trying to make any spectacular plays. If it happens, it happens. But I know people have always knocked me for my defense, and in all honesty, I've never believed a word that they've said. It just gives me more fuel to go out and play harder and try and prove them all wrong."

But are the Red Sox playing solid defense as a whole?

"Parts of the team [are]," Valentine said. "I think we're playing pretty good defense, especially in the infield."

The Red Sox have made 15 errors this season, the third-fewest in the Major Leagues. Only the Yankees and Mariners have less with 14 each.

Rays: Niemann fractures fibula
Starter Jeff Niemann was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a small fracture in his right fibula, just above his ankle.

Niemann suffered the injury in Monday's 7-1 win over Toronto when a comebacker off the bat of Adam Lind struck him.

The right-hander is 2-3 with a 3.38 ERA in seven starts this season. He's struck out 30 and allowed 29 hits in 34 2/3 innings.

Tampa Bay recalled reliever Josh Lueke from Triple-A Durham to fill Niemann's roster spot. The right-hander is 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in 11 games in the Minors this season.

"It's tough, a lot of adversity right now," said outfielder Ben Zobrist. "We're just trying to keep nine bodies on the field. Luckily we have a lot of capable guys on the bench and in the organization that can come in and help the team out. We've faced adversity in the past and done fine through it, so hopefully guys can pick up the slack."

Worth noting
• Boston leads the Majors in doubles, with 106.

• The Rays were outscored 31-12 in a four-game series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park from April 13-16.

• The Red Sox have won five in a row for the first time since a season-high six straight from April 23-28.

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