ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The ball was hit so high and far that even experienced eyes lost track of it. Not until it crashed into the catwalk above the stands in right field was it apparent what David Ortiz had done in the first inning on Friday night.

“I felt goosebumps,’’ Red Sox first base coach Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “I can’t remember the last time I felt goosebumps on the field.’’

Others just shook their heads.

“Hardest ball I’ve ever seen hit in person,’’ said Xander Bogaerts, who was running at first base. “Incredible.’’

Watching from the dugout, Drew Pomeranz was amazed.

“He hit is so high I couldn’t even tell where it hit,’’ he said. “That’s the furthest ball I’ve ever seen hit live.’’

“It was crushed,’’ manager John Farrell said.

On NESN, Dave O’Brien found the right word.

“Goodness,’’ he said.

Ortiz’s mammoth home run even won the game as the Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 2-1, on Friday night.

That’s nine wins in a row for the Sox and 17 of their last 22. Their magic number to clinch the American League East is down to four.

All nine of the wins have come against division opponents. Not since 1990, when they won 10 in a row, have the Sox had a longer win streak within the division.

The Sox also have won nine of 10 on the road.

As the postseason approaches, the Sox are playing their best ball of the year and their designated hitter may just be getting warmed up. The home run was Ortiz’s third in five games.

Ortiz now has 37 homers and 124 RBIs, both marks the best for a player in his final season. The shot gave Ortiz 1,190 extra-base hits, tying Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig for 10th all-time.

Ortiz was coolly casual about his blast. He does have 540 home runs, after all.

“You get excited at some point,’’ he said. “But it’s not all about the distance. It’s about scoring runs and make sure we put us in position to win the game.’’

MLB’s official measurement had the ball at 411 feet, which seemed conservative.

“It was longer than that,’’ insisted assistant hitting coach Victor Rodriguez. “David hit that ball like he was mad at it.’’

After Bogaerts walked, Tampa Bay pitcher Chris Archer tried to stay away from Ortiz, locating five pitches on the outer edge of the plate.

But his full-count fastball stayed up and over the middle and Ortiz sent it to the far reaches of Tropicana Field. Archer threw the ball 96 miles per hour and it went back at 106.

“Good swing,’’ Ortiz said. “I don’t know . . . Hopefully I’ve got plenty left.’’

Ortiz is 15 of 41 against Archer with four home runs.

“I’m not trying to be funny, but I’m really glad I never have to face that guy again,’’ said Archer, who is 1-11 in his career against the Sox.

The two runs were all the Sox needed. After Pomeranz went five innings, five relievers combined to get the final 12 outs.

Pomeranz (3-5) had an encouraging outing. He allowed one run on four hits and struck out four without a walk.

The lefthander lasted only 5⅔ innings in his previous two starts combined and allowed nine runs. He appeared worn down after working a full season as a starter for the first time in his career.

Against the Rays, Pomeranz showed improvement, particularly with locating his fastball. Mikie Mahtook homered in the second inning but that was it for Tampa Bay.

“They were pretty aggressive swingers tonight. I just tried to make some pitches and let them get themselves out,’’ Pomeranz said. “Everything felt pretty good.’’

On a night when Craig Kimbrel and Koji Uehara were resting, the Red Sox went to Bullpen Plan C and it worked.

Joe Kelly, Robbie Ross Jr., Matt Barnes, Robby Scott, and Brad Ziegler left four runners stranded and held off the Rays. Ziegler allowed a leadoff double by Evan Longoria in the ninth and worked around it for his fourth save with the Sox.

The Sox bullpen has a 0.77 earned run average this month.

“You can’t say enough of the run the entire group has been on,’’ Farrell said.

That Scott came in to face Kevin Kiermaier with a runner on first base with two outs in the eighth inning was notable. The rookie lefthander got Kiermaier to ground out to end the inning. Lefties are 1 for 9 against Scott since he was called up from Triple A Pawtucket.

Scott has appeared in four games since Sept. 15 and Fernando Abad only one. Farrell said Scott is in the mix for a spot on the postseason roster.

Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.