I've said it all season (look it up) and with one game left in the season series, it's no time to stop beating the same repetitive drum: the Tampa Bay Rays are simply better than the Boston Red Sox in 2011.
By taking today's game 4-3 at Fenway Park, the Rays' (84-67) starting pitching continued to completely nullify the Red Sox' (87-64) superior lineup and as a result, they are 11-6 against Boston this year.
Tampa Bay has climbed to within three games of the AL Wild Card and they'll have a very good chance to chip it down to two tomorrow afternoon as David Price faces Tim Wakefield.
For the second time in a week, Jon Lester (15-8)-Boston's ace-failed to beat the Rays in a huge game. He battled for seven innings but he allowed four earned runs on five hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
Tampa Bay starter Jeff Niemann (11-7) was kept on a short leash (5 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts; 89 pitches) but that was because as usual, Rays manager Joe Maddon had a trick up his sleeve: rookie Matt Moore.
Making just his second MLB appearance, the former minor league pitcher of the year was able to give his team three innings. He only allowed one earned run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He's already been compared to Price in 2008 in terms of how Maddon would like to deploy his newest young hard-throwing lefty.
Tampa Bay got out to a 3-0 lead with two runs in the first on Ben Zobrist's two-run bomb and Desmond Jennings (2 runs) scored on Lester's wild pitch.
Mike Aviles (3 hits) hit an RBI double in the third to score Carl Crawford (2 runs, 2 hits) and Jacoby Ellsbury (2 RBIs, hit, stolen base) knocked in Aviles with a sacrifice fly to cut it to 3-2 after three innings.
Evan Longoria's RBI single in the fifth was the difference. Ellsbury knocked in the last Boston run with a ground out in the seventh.
Moore going three allowed Maddon to avoid using any other relievers before temporary closer Joel Peralta struck out two in the ninth and danced around a hit to record his fourth save of the season.
Probably the only good news to come out of the loss for the Red Sox is that Daniel Bard seems to have found himself once again. He pitched a 1-2-3 eighth (8 of 12 pitches for strikes), his second great outing in as many days.
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