Designated hitter David Ortiz, left, celebrates with teammate Mike Lowell after Lowell’s home run in the first inning last night against the Rays.

AP / Mike Carlson

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. –– Cliff Floyd, the Tampa Bay Rays’ DH, is a veteran of six teams over 16 seasons and provides a perspective few others in his otherwise young clubhouse can offer.

Anticipating the opening game of last night’s showdown series with the Red Sox for first place in the American League East, Floyd seemed to be prescient in his remarks.

“They’re chasing us,” Floyd said of the hard-charging Sox, “but they want us bad.”

Last night, they caught them. And when they did, they sent a loud message with their bats.

Pounding out a season-high six home runs, the Red Sox pounded the Rays, 13-5, to pull even with them in the standings, though the Rays still hold a one-game edge in the loss column. Tampa has 14 games remaining while the Sox have 12.

The tie gave the Sox a share of first place for the first time since the All-Star break, as the offensive assault accomplished what the Sox couldn’t last week when they hosted Tampa at Fenway.

Coupled with Minnesota’s loss to Cleveland, the win –– Boston’s first at Tropicana Field this season after six losses –– reduced the Red Sox’ magic number for a playoff spot to six games.

“I think it was a big statement game for us,” said Mike Lowell, who hit one of the six homers. “We hadn’t won in this park. We swung the bats real well.”

“That,” concluded Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, “was a good, old-fashioned whippin’ tonight.”

The Sox jumped on Tampa ace Scott Kazmir early with four runs in the first, then chased him in the third when the first five hitters they sent to the plate reached base. Each one eventually scored.

“We did a great job early,” said manager Terry Francona. “When you come into a game (facing Kazmir), you know you have your hands full. He’s certainly one of the best –– if not the best –– left-handers in the league.”

David Ortiz, who sat out last week’s matchup with Kazmir at Fenway, made his presence felt in the first, swatting a three-run homer into the right-field seats. Lowell followed two batters later, and the offensive eruption was on.

“We hit some balls out of the ballpark,” said Francona, “and then we gave ourselves a cushion. We just did a great job offensively.”

The six homers were the most in a game by the Sox since Aug. 3, 2003, when they hit six against Baltimore. Of the 11 hits the Sox pounded out, nine were for extra bases.

Despite the 18 runs scored from both teams, the game featured some notable pitching achievements.

Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka became the first Japanese-born pitcher to win 17 games in a major-league season, surpassing Hideo Nomo, who three times won 16 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Matsuzaka’s start was typically laborious, as he needed 101 pitches to get through just five innings. But, also typically, Matsuzaka was stingy, yielding just one run, while lowering his ERA to 2.93.

Meanwhile, the Sox chased Kazmir in the fourth when the first five hitters reached and eventually scored.

Jason Bay led off the inning with a long drive to nowhere. Center fielder Fernando Perez drifted back and appeared to be tracking the ball for a catch in deep center, but the ball never came down, lodging in the middle catwalk for a homer, Bay’s 30th of the season when his output for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Red Sox are combined.

After a walk to Jed Lowrie, Jason Varitek connected for a homer with some historical significance. It was his 158th as a Red Sox catcher, passing Carlton Fisk as the standard-bearer for receivers.

After an infield single by Jacoby Ellsbury and a double by Coco Crisp, Kazmir’s night was over, resulting in his shortest outing of the season.

“He had a tough night tonight,” said Maddon of his starter. “His command wasn’t very good, and when he threw it over the plate, they hit it hard and far. I was really expecting a lot more from Kaz tonight.”

His replacement, rookie Mitch Talbot, made his major-league debut and didn’t fare much better. He yielded an RBI single to Dustin Pedroia and a run-scoring fielder’s choice to Ortiz before Kevin Youkilis continued the home run parade with a shot to deep left.

Ellsbury, who hadn’t homered since Aug. 9, finished the long-ball attack with a solo shot to right in the fifth.

Doubles from Ortiz and Youklilis in the sixth accounted for the final Red Sox run of the night.

Mike Timlin passed Kent Tekulve with his 1,051st career relief appearance in the eighth, the most ever for a right-handed reliever.

Chris Smith, who contributed two innings of relief after Matsuzaka, gave up four runs on a pair of two-run homers.

But the Rays’ late power surge was too little, too late to catch the Sox.

Instead, the Sox had caught them, creating a (near) tie with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season.

smcadam@projo.com