ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tim Wakefield continued his domination of the Devils Rays last night in the Red Sox’ 6-0 victory.

Wakefield was lifted after seven innings, needing only 77 pitches to sail through his stint before tightness in his back prompted manager Terry Francona to lift him with Boston enjoying its six-run bulge.

“It’s not going to be bad. It’s just one of those things,” said Wakefield, who allowed only four soft singles in improving his record to 15-10, tying teammate Josh Beckett and the Angels’ John Lackey for the most wins in the American League.

“It happened to me last time here,” said Wakefield of the back stiffness. “Maybe it’s the (artificial) turf or the mound, or the beds. It started to get tight in the fifth. I got through the sixth and the seventh and told them (Francona and pitching coach John Farrell) about it to give them a heads-up. I told them I could go back out there, but they said that was enough for the night.”

“We didn’t want to push it,” said Francona.

The Rays, meanwhile, are pushovers when Wakefield is facing them. Last night’s win improved his career record to 19-2 against Tampa Bay, including a 9-0 log at Tropicana Field. He is 4-0 against the Rays this season and has a 19-inning scoreless streak against them.

Wakefield kept up another streak last night, as well, earning another decision. Wakefield has earned a decision in his first 25 starts this season, the longest such streak since the White Sox’ Jack McDowell’s 27 in a row in 1993.

The last Red Sox pitcher to earn a decision in more starts to begin a season was Danny MacFayden, who went 10-16 in his 26 games in 1929.

A welcome change

The Red Sox generally have a difficult time with Tampa Bay left-hander Scott Kazmir.

But they didn’t waste any time mounting an offense against him last night. Dustin Pedroia jumped on his first pitch and smacked it through the shortstop hole for a single leading off the game.

Boston eventually scored two runs in the inning. Kazmir fanned Manny Ramirez with runners at first and third and one out, but Mike Lowell ripped a two-run double past third baseman Akinori Iwamura.

In the second, after Kazmir had fanned Bobby Kielty with the bases loaded and one out, Ramirez came through with a two-run single, capping a three-run surge that gave the Red Sox a quick 5-0 lead. Kazmir, his pitch count driven up early, was gone after 5 2/3 innings.

He gave up all six runs. Lowell nailed him for a homer to left-center in the fifth.

Ortiz takes a break

David Ortiz was out of the starting lineup last night. Francona weighed a few factors in making that decision.

Francona wanted to make sure, especially after last Friday’s day-night doubleheader, that everyone gets a day off here or there as the season heads down the stretch, so that was one reason to sit Ortiz.

The other factor was that Tampa Bay’s starting pitcher was Kazmir, against whom Ortiz is a paltry 5-for-34 (.147).

Ortiz’s absence from the starting lineup enabled Ramirez to take a little load off his feet on the Tropicana Field artificial turf by serving as the designated hitter in Ortiz’s customary spot. Ramirez likely will have Wednesday off here.

Kielty, who went 2-for-3 in his Red Sox debut on Sunday, started in left field.

Baldelli starting over

Rhode Island’s Rocco Baldelli, who hasn’t played since May 15 when he suffered a strained left hamstring while running out a grounder, made his first rehabilitation start last night for Class-A Vero Beach.

Serving as the designated hitter in the first game of a doubleheader, Baldelli flied out twice and walked once. He scored a run. Baldelli is expected to be with Vero Beach for four or five games alternating between DH and the outfield before moving up to Triple-A Durham.

Baldelli, whose promising career has been derailed by numerous injuries over the last few seasons, has been re-learning how to run in an effort to stay away from the hamstring troubles that have dogged him. The Devil Rays have been trying to alter the center fielder’s running style.

“I feel like I’m ready to play and I don’t have to worry about my leg anymore,” Baldelli, 25, told the Tampa Tribune over the weekend.

“Physically my legs feel different. Add to that, that I’m running a little bit differently, too, and I think it’s really going to change the way that I play out there.”

A little late for that

Red Sox pitcher Matt Clement, who had major shoulder surgery last fall, threw a 50-pitch side session at Tropicana Field early yesterday.

Clement likely will be ready to appear in a game by the middle of September, but where he’ll be able to do that is problematic at this point, said Francona, because the minor-league seasons will be over.

Dome away from home

Only four pitches into the game the Red Sox fans began taking over the Rays’ home field.

That’s how long it took for the first “Let’s Go, Red Sox” chant to fill the dome, a cheer that was booed by the seemingly smaller contingent of Devil Rays fans.

Looking out for their own

Red Sox fans were looking out for Coco Crisp.

The Boston center fielder almost was run over in Seattle by the Mariner Moose on an ATV. Raymond, the Devil Rays’ mascot, also rides one, so the fans made a yellow sign that proclaimed an area near the Sox’ dugout as a “Coco Crossing.”

Around the bases

Pedroia notches his seventh multiple-hit game in his last 11 starts. … Ramirez’s two-run single in the second inning boosted his career total to 1,600, moving him one past Nap Lajoie for 28th place on the all-time list … Lowell has driven in at least one run in six of his last seven starts. … The strikeout of J.D. Drew in the fifth was the 175th of the season for Kazmir, breaking his own team record of 174, established in 2004.

skrasner@projo.com