They are still three games back of the A's for the second wild card spot but Tampa Bay (84-70, 40-36 away) is doing all they can to stay in the race. Tonight, behind David Price's (19-5) fourth career complete game, the Rays beat the Red Sox (69-86, 34-46 home) 5-2 at Fenway Park in the series opener for their sixth straight win.
It was Price's second complete game of the season and it couldn't come at a better time for him or his team. He has to be the front-runner for his first AL Cy Young award. He allowed two earned runs on seven hits but struck out a season-high 13 and didn't walk anybody in 112 masterful pitches.
Clay Buchholz (11-8) couldn't match Price's sheer dominance. In six innings, he allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits with five strikeouts and two walks.
Jeff Keppinger (2 hits, 2 runs) had a three-run homer (his 8th of the season) in the second to stake Tampa Bay to a 3-0 lead. After Danny Valencia's RBI single in the home half of the second and a run scoring in the third on Price's balk, Boston was never heard from again. Jose Molina (2 hits) added a two-run single in the sixth to wrap it up for the offensively-challenged Rays.
Ben Zobrist (2 hits, double) and Evan Longoria (2 hits, run, walk) also had multiple hits in the win. Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, double) was the only Red Sox with more than one hit, not surprising since him and Cody Ross were the lone Opening Day starters left in the lineup. It was basically PawSox night at Fenway.
Tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) is the final game at Fenway this season. After that, we won't see the Red Sox in town until next April which is probably the most appealing sentence I've ever written on this blog. Jon Lester (9-13) gets to put the cherry on top of his dogshit sundae of a season when he faces Alex Cobb (9-9).
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