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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If The Angels Make The Playoffs, They Owe The Red Sox Big-Time

On the off chance that the Angels make the playoffs this season, they owe the Red Sox something special this winter. Maybe they could buy some of the thousands of unsold Fenway bricks that must be in every closet on Yawkey Way.

Zach Stewart (1-3) made his Red Sox (62-69, 30-31 away) debut and it was an awful one as Boston lost 10-3 to Los Angeles (68-62, 35-29 home) tonight at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

The Angels improved to 5-0 against the Red Sox in 2012 as they sit 3.5 games behind the Orioles for the second Wild Card spot and 4.5 behind the A's who own the first Wild Card in the AL after tonight's action.

Stewart never really gave his team a chance since it was 9-1 in favor of Los Angeles by the third inning. In three miserable innings, he allowed nine earned runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts and two home runs allowed. The final insult was that he was shipped back to Pawtucket after the loss and Daniel Bard is expected to be activated (don't ask me why) for tomorrow night's game as a reliever.

C.J. Wilson (10-9) earned his first win in over two months (June 26) after he went six innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

The Angels had 14 hits and the Red Sox had 11 but they were all singles. Los Angeles was 6 for 16 with runners in scoring position while Boston's Spring Training type lineup was 1 for 10 in that situation.

Torii Hunter (3 for 4, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, run) led the Angels' attack while Kendry Morales (2 for 4, HR, double, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, walk), Erick Aybar (2 for 4, 2 doubles, 2 runs, RBI), Chris Iannetta (2 for 4, 2 RBIs, run) and Howie Kendrick (2 hits) all had multiple hits in the easy victory.

Mauro Gomez (3 for 4, run), Mike Aviles (2 for 4) and Scott Podsednik (2 for 4, run, RBI) provided most of the offense for Boston.

Alfredo Aceves clearly isn't the Red Sox closer anymore since he was sent in for mopup duty tonight in the seventh and eighth inning (33 pitches). He didn't allow any runs but this came on the heels of his blown save last night.

The Angels will complete their series sweep (3-0) and season sweep (6-0) tomorrow night (10:05 p.m., NESN) as Jon Lester (8-10) faces Zack Greinke (2-2).

UPDATE 8/30: Bard was officially added to the 25-man roster (not sure why they didn't' wait until Saturday, when the rosters expand to 40) and Stewart was sent back to Pawtucket.

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Everyone Knows That A 6-Run Lead Is The Most Dangerous In MLB, Especially In The 7th Inning

I don't know what it is but the Red Sox really despise extra innings in 2012. They fell to 2-8 overall and 0-6 at home when it goes past nine innings with a 10-9 loss to the Royals tonight at Fenway Park in 12 innings.

Tony Abreu's RBI single off Junichi Tazawa (0-1) in the 12th was the game-winning hit. Francisley Bueno (1-0) got five outs for the win and Greg Holland had a 1-2-3 12th for his seventh save of the season.

Making this one extra rough was the fact that Boston (60-67, 30-38 home) led 9-3 in the seventh inning yet gave it all back to Kansas City (56-69, 30-36 away) in that frame. Did I mention that the Red Sox had 20 hits? Haha it was the first time since 1960 that they had at least nine runs and 20 or more hits but lost. That takes some serious skill.

Eight Red Sox had multiple hits, only pinch hitters Che-Hsuan Lin and Jose Iglesias failed to get a hit. Mauro Gomez led Boston, going 4 for 6 with his first MLB home run and three RBIs. Cody Ross was 3 for 5 with a run and RBI but he left after tweaking his knee trying to make a diving catch. Word is that him and David Ortiz (who sat out tonight) could be going on the DL tomorrow.

Scott Podsednik, Jacoby Ellsbury (2 runs, double, stolen base), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (run, RBI), Ryan Lavarnway (run, walk), Mike Aviles (3 RBIs) and Pedro Ciriaco (run, walk) all had two hits for Boston.

The Royals won because they were an absurd 8 for 13 with runners in scoring position. The Red Sox were a pedestrian (by comparison) 5 for 11 and they left 10 on base.

Kansas City has no power (one of the million reasons they always blow) but they still got it done this evening. Billy Butler was 3 for 6 with two RBIs, a double and run and Alex Gordon was 2 for 4 with four RBIs, two runs, a double and walk. Alcides Escobar (2 runs, walk), Eric Hosmer (run, double, walk) and Tony Abreu (RBI) each produced two hits for the Royals.

Aaron Cook allowed three runs in the first inning (on four straight hits to begin the game) but he settled down and went six innings. He allowed those three earned runs on seven hits with no strikeouts and one walk.

Former Orioles bum Jeremy Guthrie was lit up for seven runs (6 earned) on seven hits in 2.2 innings. Unfortunately, Boston's bullpen falling apart let him off the hook.

Gordon had a two-run double (he leads the AL in doubles with 41) and Butler added an RBI single for an extremely early 3-0 Royals advantage. Gomez hit a solo homer in the second inning then former Royals great Mike Aviles put Boston ahead with a three-run blast (his 13th of the season) in the second.

A run scored on Gomez's infield single in the third and Guthrie's error opened the door for a gift run on top of that. Salty had a sacrifice fly in the third then Ross and Gomez had RBI singles in the fourth. At 9-3, who knew that the Red Sox would A) blow the lead and B) not score in the next eight innings. Baseball is a funny game as every 100-year-old writer will wax poetic and tell you.

Andrew Miller (4 earned runs) and Mark Melancon (2 earned runs) teamed up to shit the bed in the seventh when Boston choked just like they did two nights earlier against the Angels. Haha remember that? Seems like ages ago. Gordon started it with a two-run single, Butler had an RBI double, Salvador Perez had an RBI single then Ross totally misplayed Mike Moustakas' fly ball into a two-run triple (sweet ruling there Fenway scorekeeper). That must have been when he got hurt as well, adding insult to injury as they say.

Felix Doubront (10-6) makes his first start since August 9 tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN), it should be memorable too since he faces Big Willie Style himself Will Smith (4-5). I think it is sad that the actor/rapper has been forced to take on a third job as an anonymous pitcher for Kansas City but maybe he's studying for a new role? I promise to bring some quality Will Smith jokes tomorrow if I get caught in the trap of wasting time watching that terrible matchup.

UPDATE 8/26: Lin was sent down, James Loney was activated and reliever Pedro Beato (obtained in the Kelly Shoppach trade with the Mets) was called up.

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Red Sox & Yankees Split Day-Night Doubleheader At Fenway Park

It was a mixed bag at Fenway Park today as the Red Sox (43-42, 22-23 home) were lifeless in Game 1 and lost 6-1 to the Yankees (51-33, 26-17 away) before winning the nightcap 9-5.

Boston snapped a five-game losing streak with the win while also notching their first victory against New York this season (improving to 1-4) and going above the .500 mark once again.

The patchwork Red Sox lineup that could only manage seven hits in the opener mashed 17 hits (6-for-17 with runners in scoring position with 12 left on base) in the second game. The crazy part was that Pedro Ciriaco (4 for 5, 2 doubles, 4 RBIs, 2 runs, stolen base) and Mauro Gomez (3 for 4, 2 doubles, RBI) aka Triple-A All-Stars this season with Pawtucket were the catalysts. Adrian Gonzalez was also 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs as his hit streak went up to 18 games.

In the three games so far this series, New York has scored five, four and three runs respectively in the first inning. I'm no Dave Duncan but Boston might want to fix that. Mark Teixeira blasted a three-run bomb (his 15th of the season) tonight in the first.

From there, Felix Doubront (9-4) found a rhythm while conversely Phil Hughes (9-7) slowly crumbled. The Yankees didn't help themselves out either by making four errors. Doubront went 6.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits with six strikeouts and a walk. Hughes lasted 5.1 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on 10 hits with three strikeouts and a walk.

Boston chipped away at the three-run deficit with single runs in third and fifth on a double play and Nick Punto's (2 hits) sacrifice fly. Ciriaco put the Red Sox up 5-3 with a bases-clearing three-run double in the fifth. Andruw Jones (10th of the season) hit a solo homer in the sixth, his third blast of the day, to draw the Yankees within one run at 5-4.

The Red Sox scored four runs in the seventh as New York's bullpen had a mini-meltdown. Ryan Sweeney (1st game back from the DL) had an RBI triple while Gomez and Ciriaco had RBI doubles. Ciriaco closed it out by scoring on Russell Martin's error.

Matt Albers got the final two outs of the seventh and Vicente Padilla was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam (Clayton Mortenen's fault) with one out to end the eighth for his 19th save of the season. Padilla retired Jones on a pop up to Jarrod Saltalamacchia and pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez did the same exact thing.

Eric Chavez hit a solo shot (his 7th of the season) in the ninth against Alfredo Aceves, in a non-save situation, but it didn't matter.

Game 1 was truly nothing to write home about. Just like in Game 2, New York scored all of its run thanks to homers. Nick Swisher hit a three-run blast (13th of the season) in first followed by Jones. The Yankees went back-to-back again in the fourth with Jones and Jayson Nix (3rd of the season) doing the honors with solo shots. Gomez helped the Red Sox avoid the shutout with an RBI single in the fourth.

Freddy Garcia had a great outing that should come with an asterisk since he was facing a lineup that featured Ciriaco, Gomez, Ryan Kalish (sent down to Pawtucket afterwards to make room for Sweeney), Mike Aviles, Kelly Shoppach and Brent Lillibridge. In 6.2 innings, Garcia (3-2) allowed one earned run on six hits with five strikeouts and two walks.

Franklin Morales (1-2) wasn't nearly so lucky as he faced a good Yankees lineup and as a result, got shelled for the first time in four starts. Bobby Valentine's strange decision to have him pitch 1.1 innings of relief in Oakland on Wednesday probably didn't help anybody (besides New York).

Justin Germano won the Tim Wakefield memorial mop-up duty award as he saved Boston's bullpen (which came in handy) with 5.2 innings of relief following Morales. Not a bad Red Sox debut as he struck out seven and didn't allow a run on five hits and two walks.

More than probably any other Sunday Night Baseball game this season (I bet it does huge ratings), everyone will be tuned in tomorrow night (8:05 p.m., ESPN) for the series finale as Jon Lester (5-5) faces Ivan Nova (9-3).

It is the final game before the All-Star break so please savor it since Home Run Derby and the silly All-Star Game are basically cruel jokes staged by ESPN and Fox. The Red Sox will be looking for a series split while also getting to .500 at Fenway and staying above .500 overall. That doesn't sound like much but to this self-destructive team, it would mean more than they would care to admit.

UPDATE 7/8: Clayton Mortensen was sent down to Pawtucket after the doubleheader. The Red Sox were able to add a 26th player (him) to the roster for the two games on Saturday.

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