When The Red Sox Needed Him Most, Jon Lester Completely Let His Whole Team Down

After surviving a 14-inning game on Monday (a 10-8 win where they used eight pitchers), the Red Sox desperately needed a long outing from Jon Lester tonight. He didn't have to throw a gem, it was more about eating up innings and giving the bullpen a night off. Instead, Lester (6-3) couldn't get out of the fifth inning as he allowed seven earned runs in a 8-3 win by the Rays (35-29 overall, 20-12 home) at dumpy Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay hit four home runs as the artist formerly known as Fausto Carmona, now called Roberto Hernandez (4-6) beat a team that his alter ego used to always struggle against. Hernandez went seven innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Other than Jacoby Ellsbury (2 for 5 with 2 runs, stolen base) and Jose Iglesias (2 for 4 with run), nobody on Boston (40-26 overall, 19-12 away) could really get it going at the plate.

The Red Sox actually led twice, very briefly, in the early innings. Dustin Pedroia had a sacrifice fly in the first but former Red Sox great James Loney tied it with a bases loaded walk in Tampa Bay's first at bat. Lester walked four Rays in the first, an awful start for his pitch count that he could never recover from.

Desmond Jennings (3 hits, 3 runs) had a solo homer to center in the second but Mike Napoli's two-run single in the third put Boston back on top 3-2. It was all downhill from there as the Rays scored twice in the third (RBI singles from Ryan Roberts and Jose Molina) before Evan Longoria hit a solo homer to right in the fourth and Matt Joyce (2 hits, walk) ended Lester's night with a two-run blast to right.

Poor Jose De La Torre was summoned for only his third appearance of the season (first since being recalled) and he was greeted with another solo shot by Jennings. He deserves credit though for finishing the game so no other pitchers had to come in for Boston.

It's only fitting that since nobody will watch tomorrow night's game (7:10 p.m., NESN), Alfredo Aceves (2-1) faces rookie Chris Archer (1-1) in the gross series finale. Both teams want that series victory but I predict I won't see any of it or at least care one bit since the Bruins and Blackhawks are facing off in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals (8 p.m., NBC). Baseball can wait for another (slower) day.

UPDATE 6/12: Aceves takes De La Torre's spot on the roster and the rookie goes back to Pawtucket.

UPDATE 6/14: Pedro Ciriaco was traded to the Padres for a player to be named later or cash. Needing another reliever, the Red Sox sent Alex Wilson back to Pawtucket and called up Rubby De La Rosa.

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Red Sox Officially Clinch Their First Losing Season Since 1997, Thanks Dice-K

It's been a formality for weeks, hell maybe even months, that this would be the Red Sox' first losing season since 1997 (15 years!); still, it is perfectly fitting that Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-6) was the losing pitcher in the game that put them officially over that super depressing edge.

Tampa Bay (79-70, 40-34 home) snapped its four-game losing streak with a 13-3 laugher tonight at Tropicana Field against Boston (68-82, 35-39 away). The Rays dormant offense exploded for 15 hits (6 extra base hits) and 10 walks. Tampa Bay was up 5-3 until they hung seven runs in the sixth on Red Sox relievers Alfredo Aceves (4 earned runs) and Daniel Bard (3 earned runs).

In what I pray is his final outing in a Red Sox uniform, Dice-K was shelled for five earned runs on nine hits in three innings. Like Josh Beckett earlier this season, all I want is to see Matsuzaka leave this team. He is pitiful and a constant reminder of where dumb spending on free agents gets you.

Rookie Chris Archer (1-3) picked up his first MLB win with five innings of work. He allowed three earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts and four walks.

Jacoby Ellsbury (3 for 3, 2 RBIs) and Pedro Ciriaco (2 for 4, 2 runs) had the only hits for the Red Sox.

Jeff Keppinger (3 for 4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, solo homer) led the Rays with Carlos Pena (2-run homer, 2 runs, 3 RBIs, 3 walks), Desmond Jennings (2 for 5, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, walk, triple), Luke Scott (2 for 3, run, RBI, walk, double), Matt Joyce (2 for 3, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, run) and Jose Molina (2 for 3, run, RBI, walk, double) also coming through at the plate.

This four-game series ends tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) with the one juicy matchup of the week: Clay Buchholz (11-6) vs. Cy Young candidate David Price (18-5). With a decent college football game on (Boise State vs. BYU) and even better NFL game (Panthers vs. Giants), odds are that I will only flip to Red Sox-Rays during commercials or halftime.

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The Rays (Minus Luke Scott & B.J. Upton) Are Way Too Easy To Root For

Yes friends, Memorial Day weekend (the unofficial start of summer) is here but the Boston Red Sox still haven't gotten over the .500 mark in the 2012 season.

They've had three chances (four if you count Opening Day) to get over that but they haven't done such a simple task that most mediocre baseball teams can do in their sleep. It's very possible that it might be June before it happens (if ever). Let that fully sink in and wash over you.

Tonight at Fenway Park, Tampa Bay (28-18, 11-11 away) opened up a 7-1 lead in the fourth inning before settling for a 7-4 victory in the series opener against Boston (22-23, 9-12 home).

Jon Lester's (3-4) outing was bad enough but this couldn't mercifully end without that wonderfully pointless exercise that's unique to baseball: intentionally hitting a guy with a pitch than both dugouts and bullpens emptying but absolutely nothing of consequence happening. The particulars of this event were Red Sox reliever Franklin Morales drilling Rays redneck racist Luke Scott on the hip in the ninth. It was all payback for drama earlier in the game (Burke Badenhop hitting Dustin Pedroia in the 6th). Things like that give me an ice cream headache. Nobody can be as sensitive as baseball players and the mock outrage when utterly predictable stuff like that occurs is equally pathetic. Who cares, as long as it's not hitting guys in the head.

Moving on, Lester was rocked. He lasted but four innings, allowing seven earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. He served up three homers in less than two innings, always a winning formula.

Rays rookie Alex Cobb (2-0) got the win and it's good to see Tampa Bay finally developing some young pitchers. They haven't had enough of those in recent years that have found any success. Cobb went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits with two strikeouts and four walks.

This shouldn't even have been competitive but as they've done all season, the Red Sox bullpen stubbornly kept them in it. Scott Atchison threw three scoreless innings while Matt Albers and Morales followed him with scoreless frames of their own. Combined they allowed only two hits with four strikeouts and two walks in five innings of work. Maybe Bobby V should think about reversing roles and having them start the game since Boston's starters clearly couldn't be less consistent.

Kevin Youkilis gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single. Matt Joyce (9th of the season) put the Rays in front for good with a grand slam in the third inning. Elliott Johnson (3rd of the season) and new Tampa Bay leadoff hitter Carlos Pena (7th of the season) hit back-to-back homers in the fourth with Johnson's coming with Chris Gimenez on base too.

Boston mounted its ill-fated rally in the fifth as Adrian Gonzalez hit an RBI double off the Monster to cut it to 7-2. Marlon Byrd had an RBI single in the sixth and Mike Aviles hit a sacrifice fly but Jake McGee was able to get David Ortiz to fly out to right (with two runners on) to end the frame.

Tampa Bay's bullpen was even more impressive (considering they had a lead) as McGee got four outs, Joel Peralta earned the hold with two strikeouts in a 1-2-3 eighth and Fernando Rodney had a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for his 15th save of the season. I bet you didn't know that Rodney's ERA is 0.38. Really.

I don't know what kind of deal with the devil Joe Maddon made but it's insane when you sit back and realize what he's getting out of things like Pena leading off, Red Sox castoff Drew Sutton (2 for 3 with a walk) and Rodney as a lights out closer. If everything seemingly works for the Rays (in the regular season at least before their lack of offense kills them in the postseason), nothing is ever right for the Red Sox, who take one step forward and two steps back every week.

With Celtics-Sixers Game 7 on tap tomorrow night (8 p.m., ABC) and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat on the line, I'm pretty sure about five people will watch all of the Red Sox-Rays game tomorrow (7:15 p.m., Fox). Four of them will be old folks that fall asleep in the third inning with the TV on. That's probably best since Josh Beckett (4-4) faces David Price (6-3).

I can already smell a Rays sweep this weekend while everyone is more tuned into parties, barbecues and the beach.

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Hey Rays, Get Out Of Our City!

I already posted my love letter to the Tampa Bay Rays last night so I'm not going to write any more unnecessary platitudes and slurping.

There's no need to dress anything up when Tampa Bay (85-67) closed out its season series with the Boston Red Sox (87-65) this afternoon at Fenway Park with a 8-5 win.

The victory propelled the Rays to a 12-6 advantage over the Red Sox this season and most importantly, it put Tampa Bay just two games behind Boston with 10 games left in the 2011 regular season. If necessary, Game 163 would be at the Trop next week.

If you can think of something nice to say about a team that lost six of its last seven against a divisional foe, including a four-game sweep this weekend at home, I'd like to hear it. To say the Red Sox are struggling is the understatement of the month. A split of the four games probably would have buried the Rays but now, Boston has to fight until the end of the regular season.

David Price didn't figure into the decision as he left after four innings (he was hit in the chest by a line drive). He allowed two earned runs on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

As expected, Tim Wakefield (7-7) was no match for Price or Tampa Bay. Career win No. 201 had to wait as he went five fruitless innings. He allowed six runs (two earned) on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Two throwing errors by third baseman Mike Aviles proved to be particularly costly.

Tampa Bay took any intrigue out of it early on an NFL Sunday and we'll thank them for that since the Patriots were playing at 4:15 p.m. Johnny Damon had an RBI double, Matt Joyce (3 hits, 3 RBIs) had an RBI single and Desmond Jennings (2 hits) had an RBI single all in the second inning.

Sean Rodriguez's sacrifice fly in the fourth made it 4-0 before Darnell McDonald got Boston on the board in the frame with a two-run double.

Things got sloppy in the fifth (a trend in Boston's death spiral) as Jennings scored on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's passed ball and Evan Longoria scored on Aviles' error.

Joyce's two-run single in the seventh put it out of reach at 8-2 in favor of Tampa Bay.

Aviles (2 hits) had a great series as he added a three-run bomb (his seventh of the season) in the seventh.

Joel Peralta got four outs (what a concept) to record his fifth save and his second in the last two contests.

So it's all come down to this: 10 more games to decide who gets the AL Wild Card. While the Rays are playing so much better at the moment, the Red Sox do have a distinct advantage schedule-wise.

Boston has four more games at home against the Orioles, three against the Yankees next weekend in the Bronx and then closes with three against Baltimore in Camden Yards. Tampa Bay has four in New York followed by three at home against Toronto and they end with three at the Trop vs. New York.

No rest for the weary as the Red Sox have a day-night doubleheader tomorrow with the O's. Kyle Weiland takes on Jeremy Guthrie at 1:05 p.m. and John Lackey faces Brian Matusz at 7:10 p.m. Two awful matchups in a season that is quickly dissolving into a complete debacle.

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