Sox look clueless in lackluster loss to Rays

Rays 3, Sox 1
WP: Garza (7-4)
LP: Wakefield (5-6)
SV: Balfour (2)
HRs: None

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox offense has disappeared without a trace as Boston could muster just six hits - 5 singles, two of the infield variety, and one meaningless 2-out 9th inning double - off three Rays pitchers, and once again Tim Wakefield pitched a brilliant game and got nothing to show for it.

The loss dropped the Sox 2 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay, the furthest they have been out of first place this season.

#1 STUNNER: Dionner Navarro 2-4, 2BI
The Rays catcher drove in two of Tampa Bay's three runs, both were big and both came with two outs.

THE BIGGEST LOSER(s): Hansen & Delcarmen 1IP, 1H, 1ER, 2BB, 2K
Can anyone in that fucking bullpen come in and get three consecutive outs? Is that too much to ask of a bunch of guys who throw 95+ mph and are supposed to have such scintillating stuff?

Evidently so.

RECAP:
As I was sitting on my sofa and watching tonight's game on the HD set, trying not to get annoyed with the nauseating Rays announcers I'm stuck listening to down here, I suddenly realized the similarities between tonight's and last night's games are pretty freaky:

-Tampa Bay jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning of both contests

-the Sox didn't get their first hit until the 4th inning, when they went on to tie the game at one

-the Rays came right back to take the lead again in the bottom of the 4th, both times for good

-Tampa Bay's starter handcuffed the Boston batters for the better part of the night

-the Sox had a chance to tie or win the game in the 9th, but a late rally came up short

-the Rays won both games

The other similarities between the two games has been the anemic Boston offense.

In two games Boston has tallied five runs, 14 hits, four extra base hits and just four walks. By contrast in their game against the Astros on Saturday the Sox scored 10 runs, ripped 13 hits including 6 XBHs and walked four times, although they lost that game too, and they were facing inferior pitching.

But my point is the Rays pitching hasn't been all that great, it's just that the Sox offense has sucked worse than The Love Guru.

Case in point tonight. Starter Matt Garza (7IP, 5H, 1R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K, 102) was nowhere near as dominant as he was in his 1-hitter against the Marlins last week, and he threw mainly fastballs near the plate the whole night, yet the Sox batters could do nothing with his heater.

Ditto interim closer Grant Balfour, who was "bringing the heat" with 93 mph cheese, yet the Boston batters acted like they were facing a pre-injury Joel Zumaya. Fouling pitches off, looking at strikes right down the plate, LATE ON 93mph FASTBALLS.

Guys this is the freakin' major leagues. If you can't crush a mid-90s fastball get back down to AAA, okay. I mean you'd have thought the Sox were facing Nolan Ryan and Bob Gibson, not a 24-year-old head case and 30-year-old mediocre middle reliever for crying out loud.

Like last night the Sox had their share of chances in this game too, thanks to some shoddy fielding by the Rays MLB-best defense, which committed three errors on the night, all while Jacoby Ellsbury (2-4, R, SB) was burning down the first base line.

After Tampa Bay took the lead in the first on a walk, a ground out, an error by Alex Cora and a wild pitch by Wakefield (7IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 3BB, 4K, 115P) Boston tied it up in the fourth when Ellsy reached on an infield single and made it all the way to third base when Navarro threw the ball into right field.

One out later J.D. Drew hit a sac fly to tie the game, but just like last night the Rays wasted no time taking the lead right back.

In the bottom of the inning Evan Longoria (1-3, R) reached on a one out infield single, moved to second on another Wake wild pitch and scored on a clutch two out single to right by Navarro before Eric Hinske struck out to end the inning.

And the score would stay 2-1 for a while despite Boston getting men on base in each of the next five innings.

In the fifth a two out single by Brandon Moss (2-4) went nowhere when Cora ended the inning by grounding out; in the sixth Ellsy again reached on an infield hit and made it to second on an error by shortstop Jason Bartlett, followed by a bloop single by Dustin Pedroia, but Drew popped out and Manny fouled out to squelch the threat.

The seventh was deja vu of the fifth - Moss two out single, Cora shit the bed. Then the eighth represented Boston's best chance yet to take control of the game once and for all, but again the inept offense couldn't get the job done.

Ellsy (stop me if you've heard this before) reached on a error by pitcher J.P. Howell to lead off the frame, then stole second in front of a walk to the Little Big Man, and with Drew, Manny and Lowell due up it was rally time for sure, right?

Wrong.

Drew inexplicably watched three straight mid-80s pitches from the junkballer Howell go right down the plate to earn the statuesque strikeout (June's over, guess he's back to being Nancy), and after Manny (0-3, BB, K) drew a walk from newly inserted Balfour to load the bases, Lowell grounded out meekly to short, and the Sox hopes to pull this game out might as well have died right there.

I only say that because Tito called upon the Boston pen to keep it a one run game, and lately that's like asking Nick Hogan to drive your kids to school.

Craig Hansen, he of the nasty 95 mph stuff, walked Carlos Pena and Cliff Floyd sandwiched between a couple of outs, and then for some reason Francona thought Manny Delcarmen would be a better candidate to get out of the jam than the similarly armed Hansen.

Delcarmen, he of the nasty 95 mph stuff, went to 2-2 on Navarro before the portly catcher laced a single into center to score Longoria with the all too important insurance run, and with the way Boston had been batting it might as well have been 13-1 instead of 3-1.

Turns out the run was big (what a shock) when Cora miraculously lined a two out double down the third base line to keep the Sox hopes alive, but Balfour (1.1IP, 1H, 1BB, 3K), juiced up on adrenaline, get Jason Varitek to strike out to end the game and the Trop nearly imploded under the joyous screams of all the new Rays fans.

Two games, two putrid performances and a 2 1/2 game deficit in the AL East. If the Sox don't find a way to hit Rays ace Scott Kazmir tomorrow night, and Dice-K doesn't reprise his outing from last Friday in Houston, it's gonna be a long trip to the Bronx for this team.

So I suggest the boys eschew the temptations of Ybor City and Channelside tonight and hit the sack early.

After all, they can't hit anything else here.

RECORD: 50-36
AL EAST: 2nd, 2 1/2 GB
STREAK: L4
LAST 10: 4-6
UP NEXT: Wed @ TB 710 Matsuzaka vs. Kazmir

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Sox back where they belong: 1st place

Sox 5, Rays 1
WP: Beckett (6-4)
LP: Jackson (3-5)
SV: None
HRs: None

SUMMARY:
The Red Sox regained sole possession of first place in the AL East with their 12th straight home victory and 5th in a row against the Rays at Fenway. Josh Beckett pitched well enough to win as the new-look offense again performed admirably in Big Papi's absence.

#1 STUNNER: Manny Delcarmen 1IP, 0H, 0BB, 0R, 3K
Yesterday JD Drew made his 2008 debut in this category, today it's another former doghouse inhabitant's turn. With no one on the offense nor Beckett really turning in a great game, it was Manny D's surprising 3-K showing that really stood out tonight, begging the question: where the fuck has this been all year!

THE BIGGEST LOSER: BJ Upton 0-4, 3K, ejection
The talented center fielder may be getting a little full of himself. Not only did he whiff three times, but he tried to throw everyone out at home (he did finally get Manny, but his percentage is low) and he got ejected arguing a close strike three call in the 8th.

My advice: lighten up, Francis!

RECAP:
The Rays would be about five games ahead of the Sox in the AL East this year - if they didn't have to play any games at Fenway.

For the fifth time in five Fenway meetings the Sox waxed the Rays, and this time the result put Boston back in the driver's seat in the East with one more game to play here between the two until September.

Too bad because the Sox would have the Rays back in the cellar by the All Star game at this rate.

The best part about this victory is not just that the Sox won, but how they did it - without the benefit of the longball and by using a revamped lineup that relied on old school techniques rather than "in your face" mashing.

Talk about a versatile team.

After the umps missed yet another home run call this year when Dustin Pedroia's first inning drive appeared to curl around Pesky's Pole but the crew couldn't see it and ruled it foul, Boston went straight to the small ball to grab the lead in the third.

Coco Crisp started the inning with a single to right, and with the hit and run on he made it to second on Julio Lugo's groundout, preventing a double play. That set up the first run of the game when he came around to score easily on Jacoby Ellsbury's (2-5, R, BI) sharp single to center on the very next pitch, even though Upton foolishly attempted to throw him out at home.

Ellsbury moved to second on a wild pitch by Edwin Jackson (5IP, 6H, 4ER, 3BB, 4K, 94P), and after Pedroia struck out JD Drew, batting third in place of Ortiz tonight, belted a ground rule double into the right field seats to score Ellsy and give Boston a 2-0 lead.

Manny Ramirez, who has yet to homer at Fenway since hitting #'s 500-502 on the road last weekend, worked an 0-2 count by fouling off three pitches before he delivered an RBI single to left, and the Sox had a 3-0 lead on three singles, a double and a well-called hit & run.

Small ball indeed.

The Rays would get one run back in the fourth off Beckett (6IP, 7H, 1ER, 0BB, 5K, 92P) on a double by Evan Longoria, a groundout and an RBI single by ex-Sox Eric Hinske, who was 2-4 with an RBI against his old mates.

But Boston would get the three run lead right back in the bottom of the inning when Youk (2-4, R, BI) and Tek both bounced singles into left and Coco crushed a sac fly to center, which scored Youk despite Upton's attempt (again) to nail the runner at the plate.

Beckett dodged a potential bullet in the 5th when Aki Iwamura scorched a one out single to center, nearly taking Becks' head off, but Carl Crawford lined a laser right to Youk at first, who then stepped on the bag to easily double up the stunned Aki.

The score remained 4-1 for a few innings and Boston got a small scare when Beckett slipped throwing a pitch to Cliff Floyd in the 6th, and although he said he was fine and remained in the game to finish the inning, his night was done after that.

Boston missed a chance to pad the lead when Coco got tagged out rounding third on a single to left by Ellsbury in the 6th, but they did tack on a run after Delcarmen struck out the side in the top of the 7th, and once again it was a bunch of little plays that got the run home.

Pedroia grounded out to begin the inning before Drew singled to center, stole second, and after Manny walked Mike Lowell blooped a single to left to load the bases with one out.

Youk then singled to left to score Youk with Boston's 5th run, and the damage could've been worse but Upton finally got his man when he nailed Manny trying to score on a medium depth fly ball to center off the bat of Jason Varitek.

You know what they say, even a broken clock gets the time right once a day.

The game was basically in the books after that as Okajima (1IP, 1H, 2K) and Craig Hansen (1IP, 1BB) continued the improved play of the bullpen and kept the Rays at bay, and in a game that was played in chilly temps and a steady mist the Sox took back what was rightfully theirs - first place.

Who knows, maybe this hit & run small ball stuff will catch on and they won't even need Papi anymore.

Yeah right. That thought's about as crazy as the Rays winning the AL East.

In other words unthinkable, especially if they have to play crucial games at Fenway in September.

RECORD: 37-25
AL EAST: Up 1/2 gm
STREAK: W2
LAST 10: 6-4
UP NEXT: Thu vs. Rays 6:05 Shields vs. Colon

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Home boys: Sox K.O. Rays for 11th straight home win

Sox 7, Rays 4
WP: Masterson (2-0)
LP: Garza (4-2)
SV: Papelbon (17)
HRs: BOS-Lowell (8), Drew (6); TB-Iwamura (4), Pena (11)

SUMMARY:
The two teams atop the AL East waged a back-and-forth battle for six innings before Boston finally pulled away with a four-run sixth. Justin Masterson pitched well enough to earn the win as Mike Lowell, JD Drew and Coco Crisp provided the big hits necessary to help the Sox climb within a half game of the Rays.

SUPERSTAR: Drew 2-3, 2R, BI, BB, 2B, HR
Not only did the rundown rightfielder contribute mightily at the plate, he also made two spectacular catches in the field to prevent runs and keep the score close.

Imagine what he could do if played every day - he might just make this list more than once a season.

THE BIGGEST LOSER: Garza 5.1IP, 6H, 7R, 5ER, 2BB, 3K, 2HR, 96P
Not only did the randy righty implode on the mound when he allowed four runs in the sixth inning, he exploded as well by cursing at himself & others, slamming the resin bag down and generally acting like a Little Leaguer with a hair trigger during the fatal frame.

RECAP:
So far the season series with the Rays has been a microcosm of the Sox season as a whole.

They win at home, they lose on the road.

Boston ran its record against the Rays in '08 to 4-3 with the win tonight, and yup, you guessed it, all four wins have come at Fenway while the three L's came at the fabulous, soon to be extinct Trop.

By winning its 11th consecutive home game Boston moved to an ML-best 22-5 at Fenway and while the three wins in Baltimore made its road record a bit more respectable, 14-20 is not exactly a mark that makes you start printing playoff tickets.

Regardless of the venue the win tonight was huge for the Sox on many levels:

-Justin Masterson, despite allowing a homer on his first pitch of the night, hung in for the win in what was the least impressive of his three major league starts to date

-the Sox slugged two key homers and had four extra base hits out of their seven in their first game at home since David Ortiz was placed on the DL

-both Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen had solid outings in setting up Jonathan Papelbon for the save

-Boston is now one beautiful effort by Josh Beckett away from reclaiming first place in the East for the first time since May 25th

If that isn't enough to ensure huge ratings for tomorrow night's clash of the titans on ESPN I don't know what will.

As i said this game was worthy of two clubs battling for first place as the Rays and Sox took turns trading leads before Boston finally grabbed the last lead of the night in the sixth.

It all started when Masterson (6IP, 6H, 4ER, 2BB, 5K, 2HR, 91P) allowed a leadoff home run to pesky Akinori Iwamura on the first pitch of the game, a ball that barely cleared the Monster in left but was ruled a homer without the benefit of replay.

When the rookie hit Carlos Pena with a pitch two batters later, it didn't take a genius to realize this wasn't the same masterful Masterson we had seen in his two previous outings.

Luckily for Boston Matt Garza, who had been rock solid lately in allowing just 2 runs and 8 hits in 15.1 innings while posting two straight wins, was as shaky as the rookie, and when Manny Ramirez led off the second with a single and Mike Lowell blasted a 2-run shot over the Wall, you got the feeling it was gonna be one of those nights.

The Sox missed a golden opportunity to add to the lead in the third when Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a walk, stole second (of course) for his league leading 28th theft, and Dustin Pedroia was hit by a pitch to set up a first and second, no outs situation.

But Youk skied to shallow left and ManRam (1-4, 2R) bounced into a double play, and that threat was gone by the wayside.

Like last night's game in Baltimore the Rays made the Sox pay for the failure immediately after when BJ Upton and Pena hit back-to-back booming doubles to start the third to tie the game at two, and if it wasn't for the glove of JD Drew it could have been a lot worse.

On the next pitch following Pena's ground rule double to the right field seats Rays rookie third baseman Evan Longoria launched a deep, slicing drive to the same corner, but Drew hopped on his horse and tracked the ball down near the wall for an inning-saving out, and Masterson retired the next two batters to escape the inning with the game tied.

As so often is the case in baseball Drew contributed a great offensive play in the next inning when he turned on the first pitch he saw from Garza and deposited it deep into the right field seats to give Boston a 3-2 lead.

You're serve, Tampa Bay.

Neither team scored in the fifth but the Rays returned the serve in the top of the sixth when Upton (2-5, 2R) singled through the infield to right and Pena followed with a towering blast that nearly brought rain and ended up in the bullpen to give Tampa Bay the lead back at 4-3.

The the game, and Garza, fell apart in the bottom of the sixth as the Sox would not only return the serve but slam it down the Rays throats, making sure there would be no more see-sawing for the rest of the night.

It all stated to unravel when Garza hit Youk in the forearm on an 0-1 count, and as the pitcher cursed and called his catcher to the mound you could see something was wrong with the fiery youngster.

If he was mad at himself after that mistake he must have been furious when his former Twins teammate, shortstop Jason Bartlett, booted a grounder by Ramirez, and after Lowell fouled out, Garza walked Drew on a couple of close pitches to load the bases, and it felt like all hell was about to break loose.

It did.

Captain Tek hit a sharp single up the middle to score Youk and tie the game (again) at four, and then Coco Crisp, who just ended a horrific 0-23 slump last night, stepped in with a chance to break the game open.

(*Side note - actual exchange between my son and I at this point: Drew: "Oh great, Coco's up!?" Dad-" he just broke a long slump last night, he's due for a big hit")

Like I actually know what i'm talking about Crisp proceeded to carve a 1-0 pitch from Garza down the leftfield line for a 2-run double, and just like that the game was all but over.

Ellsbury added a sac fly off Grant Balfour as Garza was shredding something in the dugout to give us the final margin of 7-4, and after that it was up to the Sox pen to bring the win home.

Amazingly they did just that. Manny D tossed a scoreless, hitless seventh, and after Javier lefty Lopez walked one and allowed a hit to his two batters, Hansen came on and retired Carl Crawford, Gabe Gross and Bartlett to send the game to the closer.

Papelbon wasted no time in setting the side down in order in the 9th, needing just 12 pitches to record two Ks and a groundout, and when Upton went down swinging to end the game Boston was one step closer to reclaiming first place and had its first game in the win column since Big Papi went on the DL.

If only they could play every game at home, life would be so much easier.


RECORD: 36-25
AL EAST: 1/2 GB
STREAK: W1
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Wed vs. TB 705 ESPN Jackson vs. Beckett

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Series Preview: Rays @ Sox

Tampa Bay Rays (35-22)
AL EAST: Up 1 1/2 gms
STREAK: W3
LAST 10: 8-2
BA: .262 (5th in the AL)
RS: 257 (6)
HRs: 54 (5)
ERA: 3.65 (4)
RA: 228 (10)
SV: 17 (t5)

Season Series: 3-3

3 game series at Fenway Park
Game 1 Tuesday 705
Garza (4-1, 3.78) vs. Masterson (1-0, 1.46)
Game 2 Wednesday 705 ESPN
Jackson (3-4, 3.70) vs. Beckett (5-4, 4.30)
Game 3 Thursday 605
Shields (4-3, 3,24) vs. Lester (3-3, 3.67)

KEY RAYS:

-1B Carlos Pena .221/10HR/32RBI although the ex-Sox slugger is having a slow start to the season he has been popping the ball better of late, and you know he'd love nothing more than to get hot against his former/hometown team

-CF BJ Upton .305/3HR/32R/34BI/38BB/17SB the talented older Upton has found a home in center field and is tearing it up this season. He is currently 9th in the AL in average, 3rd in steals, 2nd in walks and 2nd in OBP (.410)

-3B Evan Longoria .241/7HR/28BI/22R/9 2B the rookie has struggled a bit with the bat since the Rays dicked him around and sent him back to the minors after his torrid spring, but he's a slick fielder and good hitter who has a flair for the dramatic -he's already got three game-winning hits this year.

PREVIEW:
This week's sign that the apocalypse is upon us - the Sox and Rays are about to wage a three game battle for first place in the AL East and we're already in the month of June!

You know what's even more fucked up about that statement? It's the upstart Rays that own the top spot, not the defending champs.

Bizarro baseball indeed!

But that's the situation we find ourselves in over 1/3rd of the way into the 2008 season, and it's up to the Sox in these next three games to set the situation straight.

Granted it won't be easy as the Rays are most definitely the hotter club, Boston is without David Ortiz and Daisuke Matsuzaka, and all Tampa Bay has to do is take one of the three games to remain in first place, but...

...that being said you have to like Boston's chances of winning all three games and regaining the lead in the East, if for no other reason than the Sox have been unbeatable at home the last few weeks.

The last time the Sox lost at Fenway was the day prior to the last Rays series, when Boston dropped a 3-0 decision to Toronto in the final matchup of a hard-fought three game set on May 1st.

Since then the road warriors have ripped off 11 in a row at home, when they weren't on grueling 10-game road trips, including three straight against these Rays May 2-4 when they outscored the NKOTB, 26-10.

Anyone for a repeat?

The main reason the Rays are where they are has been their pitching. Not only have the young starters stepped up and played well above their years, but the bullpen, which was an atrocious laughingstock last season (and every other for that matter), has been one of the best in the league.

And the Sox, which had one of the best bullpens in baseball last year, have lost quite a few games this year thanks to the pen men's inability to shut a team down and protect a lead (Monday's Okajima debacle immediately comes to mind).

To wit the Rays bullpen ERA (3.36) is 5th in the AL while the Sox sit at 10th (4.09) out of 14 clubs, and Boston's bully has allowed 27 more runs and 45 fewer hits than Tampa Bay's in just 2 2/3 more innings.

Ouch.

So obviously the key to this series will be keeping the game out of the bullpen's hands, which means the Sox starters will have to pitch deep into the games and the Boston batters will have to grab leads early.

No problem, right?

Not as long as Masterson pitches another gem, Beckett keeps the ball in the yard and pitches like he has been lately, and Colon continues his miraculous comeback and posts win # 4 on Thursday night.

If all that happens and Boston keeps hammering the ball at home then the Sox will regain first place when the series is over, and all will be right with the world.

But if the starters falter, the pen keeps sucking, and the hitters can't compensate for the loss of Ortiz, then it could be a lousy series at Fenway for a change.

What am I saying, they're gonna sweep these fucking pretenders!

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