BOSTON — Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela hit solo home runs in back-to-back innings, Connelly Early struck out eight, and the Boston Red Sox snapped the Tampa Bay Rays’ seven-game winning streak with a 2-0 victory on Friday night.

Boston was held to four hits, but Tampa Bay didn’t have a base runner after the sixth inning and was shut out for the first time this season.

After tying his shortest outing of the season last week at Houston when he exited after four innings, Early (3-2) allowed four hits and walked one in seven innings, throwing a career-high 96 pitches.

Aroldis Chapman struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth and remained perfect in eight save chances.

Nick Fortes had two hits for Tampa Bay.

Rays starter Jesse Scholtens (3-2) was pulled after allowing two home runs while walking four and striking out four in 4 2/3 innings.

Boston was hitless until the third inning, when Abreu connected on Scholtens’ 86 mph slider and drove it into the right-field seats above the Rays’ bullpen for his sixth homer this season.

An inning later, Rafaela jumped on Scholtens’ first-pitch slider and hit a 379-foot line drive that ricocheted off the seats atop the Green Monster for his third home run this season.

Boston had been homerless in its previous two games.

Red Sox greats Carl Yastrzemski, Wade Boggs, Carlton Fisk, Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz and Jim Rice were on hand to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the club’s first home game, a 12-4 victory on May 8, 1901.

Up next

Tampa Bay right-hander Nick Martinez (3-1, 1.71 ERA) and Red Sox lefty Payton Tolle (1-1, 2.04) start Saturday in the third game of the four-game series.