ST. PETERSBURG --
When Cora walked out to get his ace, Sale essentially waved him off, saying that he had three pitches left.\n\nWhy three?\n\n\"That's how many pitches are in a punchout. He owes me one,\" quipped Sale, who needed just two pitches to retire Heredia.\n\nJust after Cora decided to leave Sale in, he made another fruitful decision by enlisting Vazquez to hit for
\n\n \n\nWith the win, the Sox moved to 10 games above .500 (56-46) for the first time this season. They also moved into a tie with the Rays for second place in the [American League East](https://www.mlb.com/standings/ \"undefined\"), marking the first time Boston has been higher than third since March 29 -- the second game of the season.\n\n\"It seems like it's been an eternity to get to 10 \\[over\\],\" said Cora. \"We know where we are now. It seemed early in the season those guys were way ahead of us. It was something that we learned now, that we can catch up with people.\"
\n\n \n\nThough the defending World Series champs have often had to grind this season, they remain in position to make a run down the stretch. They are two games behind the Athletics for the second [AL Wild Card](https://www.mlb.com/standings/wild-card/ \"undefined\") spot.\n\n\"I think we've still got some work to do,\" said Sale. \"I don't think you exhale yet, sit back or do anything like that. You just keep your foot on the gas.\"\n\nAnd the Red Sox's chances of going deep will be greatly enhanced by a return to form from Sale, who has won his last two starts after going winless in the four before that.\n\n\"Yeah, obviously this has been a pretty big work in progress,\" said Sale. \"I got off on the wrong foot and had some good starts mixed in in the middle. That's what it's about. Anyone can go out there and do it once. You want to get on a roll. You want to feel like you're the guy where the team feels like they're going to win where you're stepping out there. I obviously have a job to do here. I know what my role is for this team. I wanted to get back to that.\"
At times, Sale was dominant on Tuesday. There were others when Tampa Bay pestered him with deep at-bats, such as a 12-at-bat sequence with
\n\nThe truth is that Cora nearly pulled Sale after the fifth inning -- by which point he had thrown 102 pitches.\n\n\"Actually, we were going to take him out in the fifth, and he said, 'I'm in a groove. I've got it.' Trust the player, trust him,\" said Cora. \"He's healthy, which is the most important thing, and he was making pitches, so we kept him in.\"\n\nIt turned out to be a good thing Sale gave Cora those final three outs. The ninth inning got a little too adventurous, as