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Rays Homers Send Sox To Third Straight Defeat, 5-4
By Administrator | July 1, 2008
The Red Sox have not won a game since Manny Ramirez knocked Traveling Secretary Jack McCormick on his keister on Saturday afternoon. Coincidence? Maybe…
Tonight in Tampa, the Red Sox lost their third consecutive one-run game, dropping the opener of a crucial three-game series to the Rays, 5-4. Tonight, Tampa Bay starter James Shields pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and a walk to beat the Red Sox for the second time this season at Tropicana Field (he has lost to the Sox twice at Fenway Park).
Four Rays relievers pitched 2 2/3 innings of relatively efficient relief — until a Brandon Moss fly ball hit a cat walk in the ninth inning. The fly-out-turned-double extended the inning, but the Boston rally fell short in spite of the unexpected good fortune.
The night started poorly for the Red Sox. After Shields set them down 1-2-3 in the top of the first inning, leadoff hitter B J Upton hit the first pitch from Justin Masterson over the fence in center field to give Tampa a QUICK 1-0 lead.
Boston tied the game in the top of the fourth on an infield single by Dustin Pedroia, a walk to Manny Ramirez, and a run-scoring hit by Mike Lowell, but Tampa took the lead back in the bottom of the frame. After retiring the first two batters, Masterson appeared to lose focus. He walked catcher Dioner Navarro on five pitches… he then surrendered his second home run of the game — this one to outfielder Gabe Gross — as the Rays took a 3-1 lead.
Tampa extended its lead in the fifth inning — again abetted by a two-out walk issued by Masterson (to Willie Aybar) — as Haverhill’s Carlos Pena drove Aybar home with an rbi-double. But the Sox got that run right back on a J D drew home run in the top of the sixth inning to close the deficit to 4-2.
Reliever Chris Smith then handed Tampa a run in the seventh inning by walking the bases loaded… two of the walks were of the four-pitch variety. Javier Lopez relieved Smith and retired the two batters he faced on ground outs… but the first of the grounders drove home the fifth — and eventual game-winning — run.
With the score 5-2, Rays closer Troy Percival started the ninth by striking out Ramirez. But the Sox refused to go quietly…
Mike Lowell hit a double to deep left-center field and Kevin Youkilis reached on an infield single to bring the tying run to the plate. That is when Moss hit a routine fly ball to right field that struck the Tropicana Field catwalk and landed in fair territory for an rbi-double. With men at second and third base, Jason Varitek hit a sacrifice fly to right field to make the score 5-4… but on the play, Percival appeared to twist his ankle. He was pulled from the game by manager Joe Maddon in spite the closer’s animated protest.
The Rays brought lefty J P Howell into the game to face right-handed hitting Julio Lugo with the tying run at third base… the Sox shortstop hit a screaming liner right at his counterpart (Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett) for the final out of the game.
With the win, the Rays improved to 50-32, the best record in all of baseball. They have won six of their last seven games.
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After the game, it was revealed that Troy Percival apologized to his manager for his behavior (when he was pulled from the game)… Percival said: “I hate coming off the mound in the middle of the inning — don’t like doing it. It’s embarrassing, but Joe did the right thing. I know better than to act like that. The situation got the better of me”.
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Drew’s homer, his twelfth in June, is the third-most by a player in Red Sox history in the month of June — behind Jackie Jensen (14 in 1958) and Ted Williams (13, 1950).
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Lowell is 17-for-32 during his current eight-game hitting streak.
Topics: Sox Games, Sox Players |
