St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Willy Aybar went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and three RBI as Tampa Bay crushed Boston, 10-3, in the rubber match of a crucial three-game set from Tropicana Field.

Fernando Perez homered, collected two hits, scored twice and knocked in a pair for the Rays, who won two of three in the series. Carlos Pena drove in two runs while Gabe Gross had a solo homer among his two hits and scored two runs.

Tampa Bay opened up a two game lead over Boston in the AL East and continued to set a franchise record for victories, reaching the 90-win plateau for the first time in its 11-season history.

"Our guys were great from the very first pitch, they got up very quickly," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "Papi (David Ortiz) goes deep and then we answer very fast against a guy who's nearly unhittable in this ballpark."

Grant Balfour (5-2) picked up the win in relief, allowing one hit in two innings. Starter Matt Garza allowed five hits and three runs over 4 2/3 frames.

David Ortiz homered twice and knocked in all three runs for the Red Sox, who lost the final two games of the set. Tim Wakefield (9-11), with his knuckleball failing, was torched for six hits and six runs over 2 1/3 innings in defeat.

"We've gotten so many good games out of him," said Sox manager Terry Francona of his veteran hurler. "I thought their approach was very good, and then he left a few up and they started whacking the ball pretty good."

The Rays put some distance between themselves and the Red Sox in the second inning on back-to-back home runs. Gross hit his 13th homer of the season with one out to go up by a pair, then Perez followed with a long blast to left for a 5-2 game.

"I thought I made a good pitch to Gross, but he hit it out," said Wakefield. "I left a fastball out over the plate and Perez hit it out."

Evan Longoria doubled in the third and Wakefield was pulled for Devern Hansack. He allowed an RBI single to Aybar and his throwing error on a pickoff allowed Aybar third base. Dioner Navarro walked and Justin Ruggiano struck out, then Javier Lopez mishandled a Gross grounder which scored Aybar.

Perez followed with a line single for an 8-2 game and Akinori Iwamura walked to load the bases, but David Aardsma retired Jason Bartlett on a grounder to end the frame.

Ortiz led off the fourth with a mammoth homer to right, which landed on the catwalk above the scoreboard. Ortiz came up with two on and two out in the fifth but his deep fly to center off Balfour was hauled in for the final out.

Tampa tacked on two more runs in the eighth on consecutive RBI singles from Bartlett and Pena.

Chad Bradford held the Sox off the board in the ninth to close out the contest.

Jacoby Ellsbury began the game with a base hit and two batters later Ortiz crushed a pitch deep into the right-field seats for a 2-0 lead.

The Rays countered with three runs in the bottom half, Iwamura singled, stole second, moved to third on a Bartlett single and scored on a sacrifice fly from Pena. Longoria flew out and Bartlett stole second with Aybar at the plate, then Aybar deposited a pitch into the seats in left-center for a 3-2 game.

"It was huge, especially coming off the two runs I gave up to Ortiz," said Garza of Tampa's three-run first inning.