News
Davis not intimidated by Fenway
Tampa Bay (72-68) at Boston (81-58), 7:10 p.m. ET
By Bill Chastain / MLB.com
09/11/09 10:59 PM ET
BOSTON -- Wade Davis will make his second Major League start and first road start Saturday night at Fenway Park, presenting an imposing challenge to the 24-year-old right-hander.While such a challenge might overwhelm some, don't count Davis in that group. The understated native of Lake Wales, Fla., seemingly embraces the idea of facing the Red Sox at the park that has been a graveyard for the Rays.
"It's Fenway Park," Davis said. "I don't think I have to say too much about it. It's going to be fun. [I'll] just go out there and do everything I can."
After Friday night's rainout, Rays manager Joe Maddon opted to keep the rookie in his scheduled slot on Saturday while pushing James Shields to the second game of Sunday's doubleheader. Shields was Friday night's scheduled starter.
Davis' philosophy is simple: Keep the fastball down in the zone "and let it eat."
That's an approach that yielded nice results Sunday at Tropicana Field, when Davis got a no-decision against the Tigers after allowing one run in seven innings and left the game leading, 3-1. In the game, Davis became the second player this season to strike out the first four batters he faced in his Major League debut, joining Texas' Neftali Feliz (Aug. 3 at Oakland). Prior to Feliz turning the trick, the last pitcher to accomplish it was Pete Richert for the Dodgers on April 12, 1962.
Davis hopes to do more of the same Saturday.
"Same approach, different hitters," Davis said. "[I'm] probably going to pitch to guys differently, stay relaxed, throw strikes, get ahead and be aggressive."
Pitching in September is always a concern for a Minor Leaguer making the jump to the Major Leagues. In deference to that concern, Davis said he feels fresher than ever before at this time of year.
"I feel really good," Davis said. "I definitely feel a lot stronger this year. But I felt good last year in September. This year I should be able to go all the way [through the end of the season]."
Davis feels that he has the advantage over Boston's hitters where scouting is concerned. There's not a lot of tape the Red Sox can view of Davis, but Davis carries his own advanced scouting report into Saturday's outing.
"It's always to my advantage when a team hasn't seen me," Davis said. "I've been watching a lot of their hitters on TV the last couple of years. You know, 'How can I get this guy out? What kind of swing is he taking?' So I've been watching them a lot longer than they've been watching me."
Pitching matchupTB: RHP Wade Davis (0-0, 1.29 ERA)
Maddon said Davis could not have had a better Major League debut, and the Tigers would probably agree. The 6-foot-5 right-hander lived up to the hype that has followed him since he was a third-round selection in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft in his first career start on Sunday. He finished with nine strikeouts in seven innings and allowed just three hits and one run. If not for the Rays' bullpen losing the lead, it would have been a storybook beginning to Davis' career. BOS: RHP Josh Beckett (14-6, 3.87 ERA)
Beckett bounced back from a recent string of subpar outings on Monday by hurling seven innings of three-run ball in a hard-luck loss to the White Sox. The flame-throwing righty scattered six hits and struck out four, but he was outdueled by Chicago's Mark Buehrle and remains winless since Aug. 12. In four starts against the Rays this season, Beckett is 1-1 with a 5.70 ERA and a 32:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Tidbits
Entering Friday night's contest, the Rays had 172 stolen bases, which is 21 more than their previous franchise best (151 in 2005) and 39 more than any other team in 2009 (Angels have 133). Tampa Bay also has 179 home runs, making the club one of two American League teams all-time with that many home runs and steals (1998 Blue Jays). ... The Rays are looking to become just the second team (first in AL) to reach 200 home runs and 200 steals in the same season ('96 Rockies). ... Center fielder B.J. Upton is expected to miss the remainder of the weekend series at Fenway Park while continuing to recover from a sprained left ankle. Tickets
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• Sunday: Red Sox (Clay Buchholz, 5-3, 3.92) vs. Rays (Matt Garza, 7-9, 3.85), 12:00 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Red Sox (Jon Lester, 12-7, 3.44) vs. Rays (James Shields, 9-10, 4.02), 5:00 p.m. ET
• Monday: Rays (David Price, 7-7, 4.65) at Orioles (David Hernandez, 4-7, 5.05), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Tuesday: Rays (Jeff Niemann, 12-5, 3.57) at Orioles (Jason Berken, 4-11, 6.02), 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.
