Happy Memorial Day from the Red Sox

As you would expect, the Red Sox' first win in nearly two weeks (May 14 at Minnesota, same night the Bruins were eliminated by the Canadiens) couldn't be simple and straight forward. Nope, their 8-6 win over the Braves on Memorial Day afternoon at Turner Field in the series opener had to include a rain delay that was one hour and 26 minutes long. The game itself was wacky enough as Boston (21-29 overall, 11-12 away) trailed Atlanta (28-22 overall, 18-11 home) 6-1 after four innings as they rallied to snap a 10-game losing streak.

The two biggest hits for the Red Sox were provided by none other than Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz in the fifth inning. Pedroia roped a two-run single then Ortiz crushed a three-run bomb to left center, his team-leading 12th of the season. Boston went ahead for good with a pair of runs in the seventh on Ortiz's sacrifice fly and an RBI single by A.J. Pierzynski.

Due to Clay Buchholz (8 walks) leaving after only three plus innings, in addition to the rain delay, Boston needed six relievers to piece it together but somehow they managed to pull it off. Burke Badenhop allowed two inherited runners from Buchholz's mess to score but got all three outs in the fourth, Chris Capuano had a scoreless fifth with one strikeout, Edward Mujica (2-1) pitched a scoreless sixth for the win, Junichi Tazawa had a 1-2-3 7th, Andrew Miller picked up his second hold with a scoreless eighth then Koji Uehara notched his tenth save in only eight pitches.

Boston had scored first, on Jackie Bradley's sacrifice fly in the third but Atlanta put up three runs in both the third and fourth innings. Justin Upton had a two-run double in the third and Gerald Laird notched an RBI single. The Upton brothers (don't forget that jackass B.J.) both had RBI doubles in the fourth and Andrelton Simmons closed out their scoring with an RBI single.

Jon Lester (4-6) faces Aaron Harang (4-4) tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) in the pseudo series finale as the Braves come (back) to Boston for two more games starting on Wednesday. Cool schedule right?

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You Knew The Rays Wouldn't Go Down That Quietly, Especially Against The Red Sox

The Rays probably won't make the playoffs this season, since they are 5.5 games out of the second AL wild card with 12 games to go. However, it was nice of the Red Sox to leave them with a parting gift for their dozens of fans.

Boston (68-83, 35-40 away) led 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth inning tonight at Tropicana Field, poised to take three out of four from Tampa Bay (80-70, 41-34 home). That's when Andrew Bailey (1-1, 2nd blown save, 5 earned runs) completely imploded and the Rays rallied for a wild 7-4 walk-off win on B.J. Upton's (double) three-run homer (24th of the season) off Vicente Padilla.

Carlos Pena had cut it to 4-2 with an RBI single and Desmond Jennings (3 hits, double, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) tied it with a two-run single.

It had been a pitcher's duel with Clay Buchholz (7 shutout innings, 4 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) performing even better than AL Cy Young frontrunner David Price (7.1 innings, 3 earned runs, 8 hits, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk).

This should have been remembered (mostly by me) as Jose Iglesia's big offensive output. After collecting just two hits in his first 37 at bats this season, he went 3 for 4 with two runs including a solo homer (the first of his MLB career) in the ninth which made it 4-1. It was nice to see something positive after all the bullshit he had to put up with from Bobby V's unfathomable move to pinch-hit for him mid-at bat. He deserved that.

Cody Ross broke the scoreless proceedings with an RBI double in the sixth. Ryan Lavarnway (2 for 4, run) added an RBI single in the frame and Mauro Gomez's (2 hits) RBI triple in the eighth gave Boston a 3-0 advantage.

Ben Zobrist got the Rays on the board with a sacrifice fly in the eighth that seemed innocent enough at the time.

Hallelujah, Boston comes back to Fenway for its final homestand of 2012. They play three against Baltimore (85-64, 2nd AL East, tied with Oakland for wild card lead) and then two against Tampa Bay after an off-day on Monday.

Tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) Jon Lester (9-12) takes on Miguel Gonzalez (6-4). It is Aaron Cook (4-10) vs. Chris Tillman (8-2) on Saturday afternoon (1:10 p.m., NESN) then Felix Doubront (11-9) faces TBA on Sunday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN). The Orioles have been arguably the best story in MLB this season; they have pulled out countless extra innings and one-run contests. I don't know how they have made it happen but it's exciting to watch and it looks like they are a lock for October. Good for them.

UPDATE 9/21: Red Sox recalled pitchers Zach Stewart and Pedro Beato along with third baseman Danny Valenica from Pawtucket.

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The Night The Rays' Playoff Hopes In 2012 Died

Some easy tell-tale signs that a baseball team is on life support or worse in 2012: 1) They lose to the Red Sox, 2) They argue with each other in the dugout and 3) They lose six of seven and score 21 total runs in that miserable span.

Tonight, in the series opener of four games that the Rays (78-69, 39-33 home) absolutely have to win, they fell 5-2 to the Red Sox (67-81, 34-38 away) in a mostly empty and depressing Tropicana Field.

Things had been going so well for Tampa Bay up until a 1-5 road trip last week against the Orioles and Yankees and now they find themselves fading quickly in the playoff hunt: 5.5 games behind New York for 1st place in the AL East and 5 games back of the Orioles for the second wild card spot.

Aaron Cook (4-10) outdueled Alex Cobb (9-9) and after Cobb drilled Jose Iglesias in the back with a pitch, Cobb and his catcher Jose Molina had an animated argument in the dugout. Cook went six innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with one strikeout and one walk. Cobb went six innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on two hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

Jacoby Ellsbury (3 for 5) and Mauro Gomez provided Boston with all the runs they would need. Ellsbury's two-run homer (his 4th of the season, really) made it 2-1 in the sixth and he added an RBI single in the seventh to extend the Red Sox lead to 5-1. Gomez had a pinch-hit two-run single earlier in that frame to open it up.

The Red Sox and Rays both only notched six hits but Tampa Bay couldn't do nearly as much. Boston was 3 for 8 with runners in scoring position, Tampa Bay was 0 for 2. B.J. Upton (3 for 4, run) had half of their hits while Ryan Roberts' ground out in the fifth and Ben Zobrist's ground out in the ninth accounted for their two runs.

For a team that has really overachieved the last few seasons, you wonder when Tampa Bay's front office will realize that they need another big bat to pair with Evan Longoria (out tonight with an injury). All the young talented arms are nice but in October, you need timely hits just as badly. Something to keep an eye on since it looks like the Rays will go home early this season.

Rich Hill (7th) and Junichi Tazawa (8th) both had clean innings with two strikeouts apiece for the Red Sox.

Tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN), Felix Doubront (10-9) faces Jeremy Hellickson (8-10). Expect Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon-one of the best in MLB-to pull out all the stops to try and coax some runs out of his awful lineup and lifeless squad.

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Red Sox Salvage A Split In Tampa Bay

A win in mid-May might not mean much in the grand scheme of things but it had to help the Red Sox' shaky confidence that they were able to beat the Rays tonight, 5-3 in the series finale at Tropicana Field.

Boston (18-20, 9-9 away) snapped Tampa Bay's (24-15, 14-4 home) four-game win streak by combining adequate pitching with some timely hitting. What a concept! They also won a close game after losing 2-1 on Wednesday night. It was the Red Sox' sixth win in their last seven contests.

Cody Ross drove in four RBIs in the victory, all with two outs. He was 2 for 4 with a solo homer and also walked. Marlon Byrd hit his first home run as a member of the Red Sox.

Felix Doubront (4-1) had his typical performance: he was good while he was out there but he didn't last particularly long. In 5.2 innings, he allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits with seven strikeouts and four walks. As he gets more experience, he'll hopefully realize that strikeouts aren't as important as getting deep into games and saving your bullpen.

Bobby Valentine did his best Tony La Russa impression as he used three relievers in a row to face one specific Rays batter. Ugh, there should be a limit on stuff like that in a baseball game. It doesn't help the fact that all five of Boston's starting pitchers are in the Top 7 in MLB for longest times between pitches. It must have effectively lulled the Rays to sleep though since Rich Hill, Scott Atchison and Andrew Miller all did their jobs-retiring one batter.

Vicente Padilla pitched an inning and Alfredo Aceves entered with two outs in the eighth and allowed an inherited runner to score but he managed to close the door with a 1-2-3 ninth for his eighth save of the season.

Tampa Bay rookie Matt Moore (1-4) is going to be a star, despite the fact that he's struggling a bit now while he adjusts to MLB competition. He went six innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and a walk.

The Red Sox scored a run in the first, second and third innings to open with a 3-0 lead. Ross walked with the bases loaded in the first, Byrd homered to left in the second and Ross (7th of the season) hit his homer to center in the third.

Jeff Keppinger (2 hits) brought the Rays back with an RBI single in the third and Rich Thompson cut it to 3-2 with an RBI single in the fourth. Tampa Bay's shift on Ross completely backfired in the eighth since what would have been an easy ground out to the shortstop turned into a two-run single that scored Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) and David Ortiz.

B.J. Upton greeted Aceves with an RBI single but Boston's closer recovered to get Luke Scott to ground out with runners on second and third to end the eighth.

It's crazy that it's already here but interleague play starts tomorrow across MLB and the Red Sox get a juicy matchup with the Phillies (20-19, 5th in NL East) at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Daniel Bard (3-4) faces Cole Hamels (5-1) tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., NESN), Jon Lester (2-3) gets Joe Blanton (4-3) on Saturday night (7:15 p.m., NESN) and Josh Beckett (3-4) opposes Cliff Lee (0-1) on Sunday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN). As always, like a true drug dealer, MLB gives us a taste of the good stuff (interleague play) and then takes three weeks off before firing it up again in a big way with five series in a row during June.

On paper, two of the three games are not good matchups for the Red Sox (Friday and Sunday). Add in the fact that Citizens Bank is a launching pad and Boston really struggled last season in NL parks (no DH) so this will be a tough weekend even though the Phillies' offense has been really poor. Who would have guessed when this series rolled around that both these teams with high expectations would be in fifth-place in their respective loaded divisions?

I was lamenting the other day about how the Red Sox have played so many dogs lately but you won't be hearing me say that for the next month. Check out this insanely difficult stretch for Boston: two in Tampa Bay, three in Philly, three in Baltimore, three vs. Tampa Bay, four vs. Detroit, three at Toronto, three vs. Baltimore, three vs. Washington and three at Miami. The Cubs series which is four weeks away is the next time that the Red Sox play a truly bad team and yes, I know the Tigers (18-20) haven't been so hot lately but they'll almost certainly improve.

Here is the Red Sox 2012 interleague schedule: three at Philly, three vs. Washington, three at Miami, three at Cubs, three vs. Miami, three vs. Atlanta

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Where's Bob Lobel When You Need Him?

Former Boston sportscaster Bob Lobel used to talk about the Red Sox and the panic button whenever the home team lost like two games in a row in September. God only knows where he is right now, probably at the bottom of a bottle and/or in the gutter, but no doubt Lobel is pushing his panic button non-stop.

The Red Sox (85-61) completed a nightmare of a road trip 1-6 with a 9-1 loss this afternoon at Tropicana Field to the Tampa Bay Rays (81-64). By sweeping the three-game set, the Rays climbed to within 3.5 games of the AL wild card behind the Red Sox. Oh and did I mention that they come to Fenway Park next week for four games? Yep.

Jon Lester (15-7) took the hill today and as Boston's ace you would have to think he'd give them a good chance to win. Thanks to their inept offense, he basically had to throw either a no-hitter or shutout to do it and thankfully that was out the window in the first inning.

Tampa Bay scored three runs in their first time up and later added a grand slam by B.J. Upton (4 hits, 3 runs) in the fifth to take it.

Rays starter James Shields (15-10) came up two outs short of his 12th complete game of the season (absurd) but that's about the only way he failed. He went 8.1 innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

I'm not enough of a contrarian to say he deserves the AL Cy Young (he doesn't) but he should get a decent amount of votes since he's been awesome (2.70 ERA) all season-long.

Marco Scutaro (2 hits) provided the only Red Sox run with a solo homer (his 6th of hte season) in the third. Mike Aviles (2 hits) was his only teammate with multiple hits since Boston managed seven in the latest depressing loss.

The Red Sox seemed poised to break out of their recent slump as they loaded the bases with one out in the third but Shields buckled down to get David Ortiz to fly out to left and Josh Reddick fouled out to end their last real threat.

Unlike Boston who has now lost five in a row, the Yankees snapped their four-game losing streak today in Anaheim. They're up 3.5 games in the AL East and for all intents and purposes, Boston can kiss the division goodbye. Now it's all about survival mode.

After a much-needed off-day tomorrow, Toronto comes to Boston for two games, Tampa Bay is here for four games and then Baltimore shows up for three games. It's one of the longest homestands of the season and it couldn't come at a more opportune time.

Tim Wakefield pitches on Tuesday night (only the eighth time he's gone for win No. 200) as the Red Sox try to get this whole mess turned around.

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Rays Hold Red Sox To Three Hits For Third Straight Game At Fenway Park

Well it's a good thing that the Tampa Bay Rays will likely miss the playoffs this season. I can say with a straight face that they pose a much bigger threat to the Boston Red Sox than the New York Yankees because of their stellar top of the rotation.

Buoyed by the third consecutive outstanding start by their pitchers, the Rays (66-56) blanked the Red Sox (74-48) 4-0 this afternoon at Fenway Park. It helped them take the series 2-1 and move to 6-5 against Boston so far this season (seven more meetings remain).

Boston was held to three hits in each of the three games against Tampa Bay yesterday (doubleheader) and today. That's the first time since 1974 that the Red Sox have been held to three hits three games in a row.

Following James Shields and Jeff Niemann's lead, David Price (11-10) completely shutdown Boston's lineup that is without David Ortiz (heel) for the next 10 days. Price went eight innings with three walks and six strikeouts.

It was a perfect day weather wise and a rare afternoon start but the fans that were lucky enough to get a ticket had to pay their debt by sitting through the usual torture of a John Lackey (11-9) start. By his terrible standards, he wasn't bad at all but Price vs. Lackey is a matchup Boston will never win.

In 6.2 innings, Lackey allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Ben Zobrist's (2 hits, 2 RBIs) ground out in the first scored Johnny Damon (2 hits) with Tampa Bay's first run. B.J. Upton hit a solo homer in the fourth, Evan Longoria followed suit with a solo bomb in the fifth and Zobrist rounded it out with an RBI double in the seventh.

The Royals did the Red Sox a favor by somehow beating the Yankees tonight in a game which Bruce Chen started. New York still leads Boston for first-place in the AL East by half a game.

After three days at home (three games in two days) including the off-day, the Red Sox go back on the road for one of their most difficult trips of the season: four in Kansas City followed by four in Texas.

Josh Beckett faces Luke Hochevar tomorrow night in a rematch of a game the Royals won 4-3 back on July 28 at Fenway, the finale of a four-game series split. After losing five of its last seven games and dropping out of first-place in the AL East while its offense has went missing, the Red Sox need to wake up. They want no part of the AL Wild Card and a trip to Texas in the ALDS.

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Red Sox Split Day-Night Doubleheader With Rays, Record First Triple Play In 17 Years

They might not have the same talent level with Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour, Joaquin Benoit, etc. all gone but the Tampa Bay Rays are still a tough matchup for the Boston Red Sox.

There are few if any teams in MLB that draft and develop players as well as the Rays so Crawford has already been replaced by Desmond Jennings. Most importantly, they have a deep and young pitching staff: James Shields, David Price, Jeff Niemann, Jeremy Hellickson and Wade Davis.

The Red Sox (74-46) were able to beat the Rays (64-56) 3-1 this afternoon in the first tidy game of a day-night doubleheader but Tampa Bay bounced back to take the nightcap 6-2 at Fenway Park. The Yankees beat the Royals tonight as well meaning New York takes a half game lead for first-place in the AL East.

Boston's win was the direct result of the brilliance of five players: Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Daniel Bard, Jonathan Papelbon and Dustin Pedroia. It's rare that a baseball game can be boiled down to that few elements but keep in mind, there were only six hits combined in that one and it only took two hours and 24 minutes.

Shields (11-10) went the distance in the loss, his MLB-best ninth complete game of the season. He allowed three earned runs on three hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

Lester (12-6) went one less inning but he was just a smidge more effective. The lefty went seven innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead on the first as Jennings led off the game with a double, stole third and scored on Evan Longoria's ground out.

Boston got all of its runs in the third as Ellsbury drilled a three-run bomb over the Rays bullpen, scoring Josh Reddick and Mike Aviles.

Daniel Bard got a 1-2-3 with two strikeouts for his 28th hold of the season while Jonathan Papelbon continued his incredible stretch of work with a clean ninth for his 28th save of the season.

Pedroia ended the game with authority by snagging a B.J. Upton liner up the middle that seemed destined to be a base hit.

Game two was not so kind to the home team as Niemann (8-4) had one of the most impressive starts by an opposing pitcher that Boston will see all season.

Like Shields, he also threw a complete game (nine innings), allowing two earned runs on three hits with a walk and 10 strikeouts. I don't usually give out Fantasy Baseball tips but pick this guy up, I'm pretty sure he'll be available on most waiver wires.

Erik Bedard (4-8) is still looking for his first win in a Red Sox uniform after three starts. He went six innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on seven hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Tampa Bay got to his pitch count early-in the second-by fouling off the most amount of pitches I can ever remember (29 in his outing) by one pitcher.

Luck was not on his side even though Boston turned its first triple play since 1994 (John Valentin!). The Rays scored twice in the second on a throwing error by Jed Lowrie and a ground out by Matt Joyce.

Jason Varitek's (his eighth of the season) in the third cut it to 2-1 and Sean Rodriguez was the poor sap who grounded into the triple play in the fourth (Lowrie to Pedroia to Gonzalez: 5-4-3). That was only the 30th triple play in franchise history.

You figure that momentum could carry over but Jennings (2 hits) hit a solo homer over the Monster in the fifth and Boston had to play catch up once again. Ellsbury hit another homer (his 22nd) in the sixth but the Rays pushed across three in the eighth against Matt Albers featuring some more sloppy defense by the Red Sox (even if they weren't called errors).

B.J. Upton (3 hits, 2 runs, stolen base) had an RBI single-his first clutch hit in years-while Ben Zobrist (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 stolen bases) "stole home" on another bad throw by Lowrie. Casey Kotchman (2 hits) added an RBI single for even more of a cushion.

David Ortiz missed both games and will reportedly be in a boot for the next few days, but not go on the disabled list with a bruised heel.

The rubber match is tomorrow afternoon, yes another day game (today was a rain makeup date). John Lackey goes against David Price. The Red Sox could benefit from the win since they would take the series from the Rays and more importantly, head out on the long road trip (eight games) with renewed confidence.

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2008 was a great year for some

The Tampa Bay Rays completed their first four-game sweep in team history at Fenway Park yesterday afternoon on Patriots Day.

The 8-2 shellacking sent Tampa Bay (10-3) to their seventh straight win while Boston (4-9) has lost five in a row in this very ugly start to the 2010 season.

After making the World Series in 2008 out of nowhere, the Rays came back down to earth last season and didn't make the playoffs as they failed to live up to expectations. The team is still young and supremely talented and there's no reason they can't go deep into the playoffs this fall barring any huge injuries or major slumps.

Jeff Niemann (1-0) got his first win of the season, going seven innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

In his third start for the Red Sox, John Lackey (1-1) got completely shelled and looked like the loser that routinely choked at Fenway when he was with the Angels. He only last 3.1 innings, getting touched for eight earned runs on nine hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

Tampa Bay went up 1-0 in the first on Ben Zobrist's groundout which scored Jason Bartlett (3 hits, 3 runs) who had doubled.

The Rays added five in the third on Evan Longoria's two-run double and B.J. Upton's three-run homer into the Boston bullpen.

After Bartlett's RBI triple in the fourth and Carl Crawford's sacrifce fly, Lackey's early day was already done.

Jeremy Hermida helped Boston avoid the shutout with a two-run homer to right in the seventh.

The Sox look to get something positive going tonight as they play a team more at their level right now-the Texas Rangers-who come to Fenway for three games.

It's going to be a long summer

I'd like to tell myself that this is just a bump in the road, a rough start and nothing more. However, after the Boston Red Sox lost their fourth straight, 7-1 yesterday afternoon at Fenway Park to the Tampa Bay Rays, I do not feel good about the Sox' fortunes this season.

Tampa Bay (9-3), who have won six straight, and New York (9-3) are already five games ahead of the Red Sox and that appears to be the theme for this season: Boston will be looking up and chasing two better teams in their division.

The Rays used an excellent start from Matt Garza (3-0), who went eight scoreless innings and a pair of two-run homers from Carlos Pena and B.J. Upton. Garza struck out five, walked two and only allowed four hits.

Ben Zobrist also paced Tampa's dangerous lineup with two hits, two RBIs, two stolen bases and a walk.

It was another less than memorable April start for Jon Lester. The big lefty went six innings, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits with three walks and five strikeouts. He fell to 0-2 with an 8.44 ERA.

The Sox will try to avoid the sweep today on Patriots Day as John Lackey opposes Jeff Niemann.

Red Sox force Game 7 in ALCS

I thought the Tampa Bay Rays were different. After being the better team for games 1-5 (until the final seven outs of game 5), the Rays appear to have unraveled as the Red Sox took game 6 at the Trop, 4-2.

Yet another Boston Red Sox playoff comeback that seemed so unlikely, now seems almost inevitable. How much can one crazy rally change?

Josh Beckett was the Sox' biggest question mark heading into game 6 and he submitted a fine performance given the circumstances (and his probable injury). He went five innings, giving up two runs on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

For Tampa, Big Game James Shields failed to live up to his name as he gave up four (three earned) runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings, with three walks and three strikeouts.

TBS had a power outage so the first 21 minutes of the game were blacked out (really). That means the national audience missed Babe Ruth, I mean B.J. Upton's solo homer off Beckett in the first.

Boston responded as Kevin Youkilis hit a matching solo blast in the second off Shields. Youkilis put the Sox up 2-1 in the third with an RBI groundout that scored Dustin Pedroia.

The Rays tied it up with another long ball, from the most unlikely of sources: Jason Bartlett (his second of the season) hooked one down the left field line.

Maybe even more improbable than that was when Sox catcher Jason Varitek recorded his first hit in the sixth: a solo homer to right center off Shields. David Ortiz made it 4-2 with an RBI single to right which beat the shift.

Coco Crisp once again was great in the leadoff spot with three hits, a walk and a run.

From there, Boston got outstanding work from its bullpen. Hideki Okajima (who hasn't given up a run in the playoffs) went two scoreless innings, Justin Masterson (how good is he?) pitched a scorless eighth before handing it over to Mr. Automatic, Jonathan Papelbon. The 1-2-3 ninth from Pap gave him the save and more importantly forced a winner-takes-all game 7 tonight at the Trop.

It'll be Jon Lester against Matt Garza. You have to feel like the Sox have all the momentum in the world plus Lester will almost certainly have a better start than he did in game 3 (five runs). Just sayin'.

Sox stave off elimination in ALCS with comeback win for the ages

Where to begin? The Tampa Bay Rays were crusing along in game 5 at Fenway, nursing a 7-0 lead with nine outs to go from the World Series. Somehow, someway, the Boston Red Sox recovered to get a walk-off 8-7 win thanks to J.D. Drew's RBI double in the ninth. The seven-run deficit and comeback was the second biggest in MLB playoff history.

Following the exact same script from the first two games at Fenway, the Rays jumped on the Sox' starting pitcher immediately. B.J. Upton (who at the moment looks like the greatest player in MLB history) had a two-run bomb off Dice-K that just got over the Monster.

Carlos Pena (2 hits, walk) followed suit with another two-run homer in the third off Dice-K and Evan Longoria added a solo shot. Like Lester and Beckett before him, Matsuzaka had nothing in Boston's most important game of the year. He lasted only four innings, giving up five runs (all earned) on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

When Tampa Bay scored twice more in the top of the seventh, Upton (2 runs, 3 hits, 4 RBI, walk) knocked in two more with a double, I can't even blame the frauds that filled the seats at Fenway for leaving. Down 7-0, the Sox bats had been completely lifeless in the last 2+ games, who really thought they'd have such an epic ending?

Lost in all the chaos after such a dramatic win was the great performance by Rays starter Scott Kazmir. Countless lazy Boston writers had criticized Joe Maddon for going with Kazmir in game 5 yet all he did was throw six scoreless innings (something that the Red Sox would kill for at this point). Kazmir allowed two hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Red Sox finally woke up from their cryogenic slumber. Dustin Pedroia singled in Jed Lowrie to make it 7-1 Tampa Bay. David Oritz came up with two men on and for the first time in the 2008 playoffs, Big Papi delivered. He blasted a three-run homer off Dingo-herder Grant Balfour.

The season was hanging in the balance so Terry Francona smartly went to his best arm in the seventh-Jonathan Papelbon. He let two inherited runners score in the seventh but settled down to pitch a scoreless eighth.

In the home half of the eighth the Sox tied it up on J.D. Drew's two-run homer off Dan Wheeler and Coco Crisp's clutch 10 pitch at-bat and RBI single. When it was happening live, I thought in my head that it was Crisp's best at-bat of his Red Sox career.

Justin Masterson worked around a hit and walk in the ninth to retire Longoria on a double play ball to end the inning. At that point, you had a feeling that there was no way Tampa was winning this game.

Drew did the honors as he drove in Kevin Youkilis with an RBI single off J.P. Howell. Youkilis had a great 10 pitch at bat as well before he singled. Howell walked Jason Bay before Drew delivered with another chapter cementing his place as a Boston sports legend (grand slam in game 6 of the 2007 ALCS says hello as well).

Hideki Okajima was another unsung hero in the win as he pitched two scoreless innings after Dice-K's meltdown. It had to be the earliest Okajima has ever entered a game for Boston.

So the series shifts back to Tampa Bay tomorrow night with the Phillies waiting at home for the winner, in the World Series. The Rays had all the momentum in the series and looked like a sure bet to wrap it up last night. However, I can't think of many other soul-crushing losses like last night in any sport. The fact that the Rays are such a young, inexperienced team means that this loss might linger even longer than it would with a more veteran team. Who knows? It all comes down to if Josh Beckett can give Boston anything tomorrow night against James Shields. It's been three straight dogshit starts from Red Sox pitchers. If Boston wins game 6, you can bank on them winning the series. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves, the Rays have shown themselves to be a ridiculously talented team all year, particularly in the first two plus games at Fenway.

Counting on (another) Miracle

The Tampa Bay Rays aren't just beating the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, they're setting records in the process and embarrassing the defending World Series champs. The Rays became the first team to score 9+ runs in three consecutive playoff games yesterday as they cruised to a 13-4 win in game 4 at Fenway. Tampa Bay takes a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

It didn't take long to see that Tim Wakefield didn't have anything for the Sox. Carlos Pena (3 runs, 2 walks) hit a two-run homer in the first and Evan Longoria (2 runs, 2 RBIs, walk) followed that with a solo shot.

Willy Aybar had a career night (4 for 5, 5 RBIs) and he blasted a two-run homer in the third, giving Tampa Bay a 5-0 lead.

Boston got a solo homer from Kevin Cash in the bottom of the inning but that was it.

In 2.1 innings, Wakefield was charged with five runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Once again, the Rays got an solid start from its pitcher. Andy Sonnanstine went 7.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

Tampa put it away with a run in the fifth and five in the sixth. Carl Crawford was 5 for 5 with 3 runs, 2 RBIs and two steals.

Kevin Youkilis had an RBI groundout in the seventh but the Rays scored twice more in the eighth. The Sox finally found a Rays pitcher they can handle as Dustin Pedroia and Youkilis had an RBI single and double respectively off of Edwin Jackson in mop-up duty in the eighth.

Need some positive thinking? The last two times the Red Sox have faced a 3-1 deficit in the playoffs (2004 ALCS and 2007 ALCS), they've comeback and swept the World Series. When you think about it, it's not like we could have expected those results when they were facing elimination. Still, the Rays couldn't have any more momentum at this point. Everything is going their way for good reason. Boston can't hit, isn't getting starting pitching and the bullpen is a mess.

Dice-K will face Scott Kazmir tomorrow night at Fenway in game 5. The Sox need a spark, something to get them going and send this series back to the Trop. Otherwise, it's going to be a long offseason as the team is forced to reflect on its collapse against the Rays.

Rays demolish Red Sox, 9-1

The one sure thing in the Red Sox rotation couldn't get the job done yesterday afternoon at Fenway. Tampa Bay got to Jon Lester and made it a laugher, 9-1, in game 3 of the ALCS. The Rays take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Lester lasted 5.2 innings in a game where Boston needed more from their ace. He allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Matt Garza on the other hand, gave the Rays a perfect start. He went six innings, giving up a run on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Evan Longoria scored in the second on Dioner Navarro's RBI groundout to make it 1-0 Tampa Bay. The Rays added four in the third on B.J. Upton's three-run bomb and Longoria's solo shot. Those two guys are currently killing the Sox.

Boston got runners at first and third in the seventh but could only come away with one run as Jacoby Ellsbury knocked in Jason Varitek with a sacrifice fly. Ellsbury, David Ortiz and Varitek are a combined 0-for-34 in the series.

The pride of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Rocco Baldelli sent Red Sox fans to the exits with a three-run homer in the eighth off Paul Byrd. Carlos Pena, from Haverhill, MA/Northeastern added a solo shot in the ninth.

Something needs to be shaken up with the Sox' lineup. Varitek will sit tonight as Kevin Cash catches starter Tim Wakefield. Coco Crisp (never thought I'd say this) should be in there over Jacoby Ellsbury. Coco is a terrible leadoff hitter so have Pedroia do it (which he proved capable of during the season).

It's pretty much a must-win for Boston tonight with Wakefield going against Andy Sonnanstine. If Boston loses tonight, they might not even make it back to Tampa. Right now, the Rays are beating them in every facet of the game.

Mike Timlin shouldn't be on the ALCS roster, let alone in a close game

For a playoff game that lasted five hours and 27 minutes over 11 innings, it might be surprising to hear that one decision made all the difference in the final outcome. With only Paul Byrd and Mike Timlin left in the bullpen heading into the bottom of the 11th, Red Sox manager Terry Francona made the wrong decision: he put Timlin in over Byrd (who hasn't appeared yet in the playoffs).

At that point, I knew it was over (most likely in that inning). I'm not that cynical but after watching Timlin completely lose his stuff the last two seasons, I felt like it was impossible that he'd be able to hold off the ultra-resilient Rays. Lo and behold, he walked three (one intentionally) and B.J. Upton hit a shallow sacrifice fly to right that scored pinch runner Fernando Perez. Tampa Bay won game 2, 9-8, evening the series at one game apiece.

You can't really say the Red Sox deserved to win. A couple players were outstanding and it's not like Tampa was that much better, however the law of averages had to tell you that there was no way Boston would take the first two games at the Trop.

Neither Josh Beckett nor Scott Kazmir were anything like they're capable of showing. In 4.1 innings, Beckett gave up eight earned runs on nine hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Kazmir lasted 4.1 innings, giving up five earned runs on six hits with three walks and two strikeouts. The two supposed aces each allowed three home runs.

The loss for Boston did spoil amazing performances by Jason Bay, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis. Bay had three hits (including a double and homer), a walk and four RBIs. Youk had three hits (homer), two runs and an RBI. Finally, Pedroia cranked two homers off of Kazmir, a single, four runs, two RBIs and a walk.

Other than that, the Red Sox had some black holes in the lineup. Jacoby Ellsbury was 0-for-6, Mark Kotsay was 0-for-6, Jason Varitek was 0-for-3 before he was lifted for a pinch hitter. Jed Lowrie and David Ortiz didn't get a hit but they both walked three times and Coco Crisp added three hits.

Evan Longoria was the headliner for the Rays. He was 3-for 5 (2 doubles, homer) with three runs and three RBIs. Upton had a homer, two RBIs, two runs, walk and steal. Carlos Pena had two hits, two runs and an RBI while Carl Crawford had two hits and two RBIs.

Bay put Boston up 2-0 in the first with a two-run double which scored Ortiz and Youkilis. Longoria responded in the bottom of the first with a two-run blast off Beckett, scoring himself and Pena.

Pedroia hit his first homer in the third while Upton tied it back up with a moonshot of his own in the bottom of the third. Crawford gave the Rays the lead later in the inning with an RBI single.

The most unforgivable mistake by Beckett was in the fourth when Cliff Floyd hit a solo homer to center, making it 5-3 Rays.

Boston hit three homers in the fifth, retaking the lead at 6-5 and knocking Kazmir out of the game. Pedroia, Youkilis and Bay did the honors.

Hoping to get one more inning out of Beckett, Francona left him in there to start the bottom of the fifth. Pena touched him up for an RBI single, Longoria had an RBI double and Crawford took Beckett out with another RBI single.

Bay cut it to 8-7 in the sixth with an RBI single and Boston tied it in the eighth when Pedroia scored on Dan Wheeler's wild pitch.

Wheeler was the unsung hero of the game for the Rays as he went 3.1 scoreless innings (48 pitches), with four strikeouts. Think the Rays wanted this one?

The fact that David Price, the No. 1 pick in 2007, was the last reliever that Tampa used (he got the win), is funny when you think about who the Red Sox were forced to use. No idea why Francona went to Timlin vs. Byrd who could go multiple innings and has great control (he wouldn't have walked all those hitters).

Both teams used all their best arms out of the bullpen. Delcarmen, Okajima, Masterson and Papelbon for the Sox. Balfour, Howell, Bradford and Miller for Tampa Bay.

The series shifts to Fenway tomorrow afternoon for game 3, followed by games 4 and 5 which will also be in Boston. The Sox need to take at least two out of three. They can't go back to Tampa down 3-2 and forced to win two elimination games at the Trop. Jon Lester goes against Matt Garza in what should be much more a pitcher's duel than game 2.

Getting Drunk off the Rays Kool-Aid

How long will it take people to realize that the Tampa Bay Rays are legit? Maybe one of the reasons that casual fans hold onto false beliefs for so long is because baseball has such a marathon of a season.

I can't tell you how many times recently, guys have told me, "the Yankees will make a run and Tampa will come back to earth." This is based on the last few seasons when the Yankees had slow starts but the Bombers heat up with the summer weather. Ain't happening this season folks. The Yanks still have no pitching (starting or middle relief) and their once-potent offense is starting to show the wrinkles of its age.

The Orioles? A .500 team, nothing more or less. Toronto? Great pitching, pathetic hitting so ditto about .500. Boston is a cut above those three teams but for the first time in its history, Tampa Bay is right next to the Red Sox. Make no mistake, the Rays have a very good shot at making the playoffs. I might be wrong but you'd have to be a Luddite not to see the progress being made in Retirement Country.

Last night was the beginning of probably the most important series in Tampa Bay's history and the Rays delivered with a 5-4 over the Red Sox in a game that they would have lost in any previous season.

Down 5-2 going into the ninth, Boston (50-35) scored twice and had the tying run on third when Julio Lugo (a symbol of Tampa Bay's shitty past) lined out to short to end it.

With one out in the ninth, Tampa Bay (50-32) had two terrible instances of bad luck as Brandon Moss's pop-up to right hit a catwalk and fell for an RBI double. Jason Varitek cut it to 5-4 in the next at-bat as he hit a sacrifice fly which scored Kevin Youkilis. As he tried to cover third on the throw, Rays closer Troy Percival appeared to tweak his hamstring (an injury that put him on the DL earlier in the season). No problem. Young lefty J.P. Howell came in to retire Lugo and record his second save of the season.

The Rays always had control of this game as B.J. Upton led off the home half of the first with a home run off Red Sox starter Justin Masterson.

Masterson has been good but he might have made his last start for the Sox for a while as Clay Buchholz has regained his control in Pawtucket. Last night, Masterson (4-2) lasted six innings, giving up four runs on five hits with five walks and five strikeouts.

Tampa Bay starter James Shields improved to 6-5 after 6.1 solid innings of work. He allowed two runs on five hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

Boston tied it in the fourth when the scorching Mike Lowell (3 for 4, run, RBI) knocked in Dustin Pedroia with an RBI single.

The Rays responded with two in the fourth as Gabe Gross hit a two-run bomb. Tampa Bay padded its lead with another run in the fifth on Carlos Pena's RBI double.

J.D. Drew hit a solo shot in the sixth, keeping it within striking distance for the Sox (4-2 Rays).

The one last run Tampa Bay added in the seventh proved to be the difference. Jonny Gomes grounded into a fielder's choice with the bases loaded.

Tim Wakefield (who always pitches great indoors, especially at the Trop) takes the ball for the Sox tonight against the Rays' Matt Garza. It's a big week for the Red Sox as they have three at the Trop, followed by three in the Bronx.