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(Sports Network) - The Tampa Bay Rays try to avoid their fourth straight loss this evening when they continue a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox kept their fleeting postseason hopes alive in the opener of this set on Monday, as rookie Ryan Kalish belted his second grand slam and David Ortiz also went deep, propelling Boston to a 12-5 win.
With this being the final series for Boston against the Rays, it's imperative that the Red Sox sweep to continue hopes for a postseason spot. Monday's win moved Boston within 6 1/2 games of the Rays for the wild card lead. Chicago is six back.
Jon Lester (16-8) struck out exactly 10 batters for a third straight game, all victories. The lefty limited the Rays to four hits and two runs over six innings.
Ortiz and Adrian Beltre hit back-to-back homers in the first inning for Boston, which was swept at home by the White Sox in a three-game series over the weekend. Victor Martinez added a two-run single in the second.
"I think after the first I got in a little bit better rhythm," Lester said. "Vick did a good job kind of controlling that. It makes pitching easier when guys go out and score runs like we did tonight."
The Rays remained 2 1/2 games behind the first- place New York Yankees in the AL East.
Jeff Niemann (10-6) was pounded for a third straight start. This time the right-hander surrendered four hits and six runs over 1 2/3 frames. He's given up 19 hits and 23 runs over his last three outings for an ERA of 20.70 in that span.
"Command was off, big time," Niemann said. "I went into a lot of bad counts and they were sitting on some pitches."
Hoping to turn things around tonight for Tampa will be left-hander David Price, who is 16-6 with a 2.92 earned run average. Price won for the first time in four starts on Wednesday against Toronto, as he held the Jays to a run and four hits in eight innings. He also struck out seven in the win.
Price lost to the Red Sox the last time he faced them and is 2-2 in four starts against Boston with a 3.81 ERA.
Boston will counter with Japanese right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is 9-4 on the year with a 4.29 ERA. MAtsuzaka beat the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday, as he allowed four runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Matsuzaka has faced the Rays 11 times and is 2-5 against them with a 4.34 ERA.
Tampa is 10-6 against the Red Sox this season.
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Price, Four Home Runs, Help Rays Dump Red Sox, 14-5
Read more at Over The Monster and DRays Bay.
Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Ben Zobrist, Jason Bartlett and Evan Longoria each homered and finished with three RBI, as Tampa Bay blasted Boston, 14-5, to gain ground on first place in the AL East.
Carl Crawford went 4-for-4 with three doubles and drove in two for the Rays, who moved within 1 1/2 games of the division-leading Yankees. New York lost at home to Baltimore, 6-2, on Tuesday.
Dan Johnson and B.J. Upton also went deep for Tampa Bay, which picked up its franchise-record 41st road win.
David Price (17-6) expanded his club record for victories in a single season as he allowed just two hits and a pair of runs over six innings.
Victor Martinez had a two-run double in the first inning for the Red Sox, who lost for the fourth time in five tries and fell 7 1/2 games behind the wild card-leading Rays.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-5) was touched for eight hits and eight runs over 4 2/3 innings and fell to 2-6 lifetime against Tampa Bay.
The Red Sox came into Tuesday having not allowed a home run in six straight games, but that went by the wayside in the third inning. John Jaso doubled with one out and Zobrist homered to center field to tie the game.
Tampa Bay went ahead by scoring four times in the fourth and tacked on six more in the fifth. Matsuzaka had trouble in the fourth, walking three batters, including one to Bartlett with the bases full. Zobrist had a one-out RBI single to left, and Crawford followed with a two-run double down the right field line for a 6-2 lead.
Bartlett belted a two-run homer over the Green Monster in the fifth. Dustin Richardson walked two batters in a row before Crawford's infield hit, combined with a throwing error on Richardson, added another run. Longoria smacked a three-run homer off Robert Manuel into the parking lot beyond the high wall in left for a dominating 12-2 cushion.
Johnson and Upton went back-to-back with homers in the sixth before the Red Sox scored three times in the eighth, one coming on Darnell McDonald's lead- off shot to left. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jed Lowrie added RBI doubles.
The Red Sox recalled pitcher Michael Bowden from Triple-A Pawtucket. He threw two scoreless innings...The Rays recalled pitcher Mike Ekstrom from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday and he pitched the ninth inning...If the Rays win Wednesday's series finale, Tampa will earn its club-record 14th road series win. They also won 13 road series in 2008.
Sep 07 11:24p by Rich Ramus - 0 comments