ST. PETERSBURG -- delivered the clutch hit against the Red Sox that the Rays have long been waiting for, lofting a walk-off single to right field off Garrett Whitlock that sent Tampa Bay to a 2-1 victory over Boston on Saturday before a crowd of 27,402 at Tropicana Field.

The Rays had been hitless in their last 33 at-bats with runners in scoring position against the Red Sox as Palacios stepped into the batter’s box with two outs and a pair of runners in scoring position in the ninth inning. But Palacios came through with a softly hit bloop to shallow right, driving in Junior Caminero from third for his second career walk-off plate appearance and Tampa Bay’s third walk-off win of the homestand.

The Rays’ seventh win in their last eight games brought them one step closer to clinching their first American League East title since 2021. The victory increased their lead in the division race to 4 1/2 games, pending the outcome of the Yankees’ game in Arizona on Saturday night.

Freddy Peralta continued his excellent run on the mound, allowing just one run and striking out six batters over 5 2/3 innings. Having rediscovered his front-of-the-rotation form and confidence with Tampa Bay, the veteran right-hander has put together a 0.94 ERA in five starts since Aug. 26.

Peralta appeared to be particularly energized Saturday afternoon, with more zip on all his offerings. His signature four-seam fastball averaged 96.4 mph, up 2.2 mph from his average on the year. His heater topped out at 98.7 mph, the third-hardest pitch he’s thrown all season.

The only run Peralta allowed came in the third inning, when Caleb Durbin hit a leadoff double to left field and scored on Roman Anthony’s two-out double to center. The Rays didn’t wait long to erase that lead, however, as Jonathan Aranda blasted his 22nd homer of the season to left field to begin the fourth inning.

That was all Tampa Bay could manage against Boston starter Brayan Bello, though. After going a combined 0-for-28 with runners in scoring position in their last two games against the Red Sox, the Rays didn’t even have an at-bat in that situation until the seventh inning. And that promising opportunity fizzled in frustrating fashion.

Liam Hicks and Chandler Simpson led off the seventh with a pair of singles, then pinch-runner Jonny DeLuca and Simpson advanced on a productive groundout by Victor Mesa Jr. Palacios hit a grounder to shortstop Trevor Story, who cut down DeLuca at the plate, then Cedric Mullins went down swinging to strand a pair of runners.