Ride it 'til the wheels fall off

If you've been paying attention to the Red Sox lately, you had to see this coming. With an unfathomable amount of injuries to key players piling up each day, the Sox were getting by with backups and scrubs but right now, it seems like the wheels are beginning to fall off.

For the second night in a row, Boston (49-35) lost to Tampa (50-33) at Tropicana Field, this time it was 3-2. After losing their way a bit, the Rays seem to have regained their step, no surprise with all the talent they possess and the Yankees continue to chug along at the top of the AL East.

Rookie Felix Doubront (1-1) did enough in his second MLB start to garner a win or at least no decision for the Red Sox but instead he was saddled with the loss. He went 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

Rays starter Jeff Niemann improved to 7-2 with six innings of fine work: one run (unearned), four hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

Jason Bartlett gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead in the third with a sacrifice fly that scored John Jaso.

Boston tied it up in the fourth with an RBI infield single by Daniel Nava (2 hits).

A run scored on Jaso's groundout in the fifth and then Carl Crawford had the game's biggest hit: a solo homer off Hideki Okajima in the eighth.

Boston scratched out a run in the ninth with an RBI triple by Eric Patterson which scored Bill Hall. However, with Kevin Youkilis pulled in the fourth inning with an ankle injury and David Ortiz getting intentionally walked, Niuman Romero ended the game with a harmless groundout.

Rafael Soriano converted his 23rd save despite allowing two walks.

Marco Scutaro had two hits, a walk and a stolen base in the loss.

Tim Wakefield takes on David Price tonight as the Red Sox try to avoid the sweep and tread water in the AL East.

2008 was a great year for some

The Tampa Bay Rays completed their first four-game sweep in team history at Fenway Park yesterday afternoon on Patriots Day.

The 8-2 shellacking sent Tampa Bay (10-3) to their seventh straight win while Boston (4-9) has lost five in a row in this very ugly start to the 2010 season.

After making the World Series in 2008 out of nowhere, the Rays came back down to earth last season and didn't make the playoffs as they failed to live up to expectations. The team is still young and supremely talented and there's no reason they can't go deep into the playoffs this fall barring any huge injuries or major slumps.

Jeff Niemann (1-0) got his first win of the season, going seven innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

In his third start for the Red Sox, John Lackey (1-1) got completely shelled and looked like the loser that routinely choked at Fenway when he was with the Angels. He only last 3.1 innings, getting touched for eight earned runs on nine hits with a walk and three strikeouts.

Tampa Bay went up 1-0 in the first on Ben Zobrist's groundout which scored Jason Bartlett (3 hits, 3 runs) who had doubled.

The Rays added five in the third on Evan Longoria's two-run double and B.J. Upton's three-run homer into the Boston bullpen.

After Bartlett's RBI triple in the fourth and Carl Crawford's sacrifce fly, Lackey's early day was already done.

Jeremy Hermida helped Boston avoid the shutout with a two-run homer to right in the seventh.

The Sox look to get something positive going tonight as they play a team more at their level right now-the Texas Rangers-who come to Fenway for three games.