News
Back in Boston, Rays know time's short
Tampa Bay (72-68) at Boston (81-58), 7:10 p.m. ET
By Bill Chastain / MLB.com
09/10/09 1:45 AM ET
NEW YORK -- In order for the Rays to remain in the American League Wild Card race, they will have to make some noise at Fenway Park this weekend, beginning on Friday night.Boston has a seemingly insurmountable 9 1/2-game lead on Tampa Bay, with time running out. After their recently completed series with the Yankees, the Rays appear to need a three-game sweep of the Red Sox if they want to fashion any kind of hope of making the playoffs this season.
Entering the final series between the two clubs, the Rays lead the season series, 9-6, but they are just 3-3 at Fenway Park and lost two of three to Boston last week at Tropicana Field -- the first home series the Rays have lost to the Red Sox since 2007.
The Rays are 16-8 against the Red Sox since June 30, 2008. Including last year's postseason, Tampa Bay is 20-11 in its past 31 meetings against the AL East rival. Prior to that stretch, the Rays went 43-98 over 141 games. And while they have won two of their past three regular-season series at Fenway Park, the Rays had gone 25 consecutive series without winning a set before that run.
Needless to say, the Rays have been in a funk lately, so Thursday's off-day might bode well for the team as it prepares for the final 22 games of the regular season. Preparation will be key because there is little margin for error if the Rays want to cut their sizable deficit.
"We need to win a lot of games," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.
Tampa Bay will send a strong trio of starters against Boston. James Shields will kick off the series and be followed on Saturday and Sunday by Wade Davis and Matt Garza, respectively.
"We've got to win -- we've got to win out," Shields said. "We've put ourselves in a bad position the last week or so. Now, we've got to do anything necessary to win some ballgames. We definitely [have to sweep]. ... Obviously, we've got to take it one day at a time and not think too far ahead. But I think a sweep would be nice. It would definitely help us out a bit."
Boding well for the Rays is the fact that Evan Longoria is expected to be in the lineup all series. In 15 games against the Red Sox this season, the Rays' All-Star third baseman is hitting .371 with eight home runs and 27 RBIs.
TB: RHP James Shields (9-10, 4.02 ERA)
On Saturday, Shields was given an early lead for the second straight start, but the bullpen wasn't able to hold on against the Tigers. Shields was charged with six runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. A two-run home run he gave up to Alex Avila in the seventh inning was the crucial blow, cutting Tampa Bay's lead to 6-5. Shields said he felt he had good command but made a mistake to Avila that cost him. The right-hander has not won at home since June 4. Since then, he's 4-1 with a 4.76 ERA on the road.
The lefty has been utterly dominant for more than three months. Across an 18-start run that began on May 31, Lester is 9-2 with a 2.25 ERA. He has given up one earned run or fewer 10 times over that span. In his last start, Lester became the 10th pitcher in Boston history to notch 200 strikeouts in a season. In that win, which came against the White Sox, Lester fired seven shutout innings, walking two and striking out eight. Lester is 21-5 lifetime at Fenway Park. He is 5-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 11 career starts against the Rays. Tidbits
Rays starter David Price struck out Derek Jeter three times during Tuesday's 3-2 loss. According to baseball-reference.com, the only other lefty to accomplish the feat in one game was Jim Parque on May 14, 1999. ... Will Carlos Pena -- out for the Rays' final 25 games -- win the AL's home run crown? Entering Wednesday night's contest, Pena had a four-homer lead on the Yankees' Mark Teixeira. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no player in the live-ball era (since 1920) has led his league in home runs despite missing at least 25 games to end the season. Two league leaders did miss the season's final 20 games. They were Dick Allen in 1974 and Jimmie Foxx in 1939. ... B.J. Upton was back in the starting lineup after sitting out Tuesday night's game. The Rays continue to be cautious with their center fielder after his recent left ankle sprain. Maddon pointed out that Upton would have a day of rest on Thursday's off-day before being placed back in the lineup again on Friday night. "So we'll see," Maddon said. Tickets
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• WDAE 620 Up next
• Saturday: Rays (Wade Davis, 0-0, 1.29) at Red Sox (Josh Beckett, 14-6, 3.87), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Rays (Matt Garza, 7-9, 3.85) at Red Sox (Clay Buchholz, 5-3, 3.92), 1:35 p.m. ET
• Monday: Rays (David Price, 7-7, 4.65) at Orioles (David Hernandez, 4-7, 5.05), 7:05 p.m. ET
Bill Chastain is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
