Is it time for the All-Star break yet?

Yikes, this is getting ugly. With the Triple A lineups the Red Sox are forced to trot out each night, they have no chance against anyone, particularly a good team like the Rays. Boston's hand is forced too because they don't really have many trade chips and not to mention there have so many needs (middle of the lineup bat, relievers) to fill.

Last night, Tampa Bay (51-33) swept the Sox (49-36) 6-4 at Tropicana Field as David Price became the first 12-game winner in the AL (probably solidifying that he'll start the All-Star game next week).

Price (12-4) went 7.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits with a walk and 10 strikeouts.

Tim Wakefield fell to 3-7, lasting 5.2 innings but allowing six earned runs on four hits with six walks and three strikeouts.

Mercifully the Red Sox have an off-day today and then a three-game series in Toronto before they can regroup and hopefully return somebody next week when they start back up.

This was actually a game that Boston deserved to win but unfortunately they got in way too big a hole early. The Rays went up 2-0 in the fourth on Evan Longoria's solo homer and B.J. Upton's infield single. Tampa added three more in the fifth: Kelly Shoppach scored on a passed ball, Carlos Pena had an RBI single and a run scored on Sean Rodriguez's groundout.

David Ortiz started the ill-fated Sox comeback with an RBI double in the sixth. Carl Crawford answered with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth which turned out to be the deciding run.

Mike Cameron (3 hits) hit a solo homer in the seventh then a sacrifice fly in the ninth. That wacky Joe Maddon even had Matt Garza close out the Sox (since Rafael Soriano had worked four games in a row) and he nearly gave it away as Darnell McDonald (3 hits) hit an RBI double and Ortiz walked before Kevin Youkilis flew out to center to end it.

What is going on with Josh Beckett?

As sweet as the win Tuesday night was, last night left a bitter taste in Red Sox fans' mouths since Josh Beckett continued to scuffle (at the most important time of the season).

Tampa Bay won 8-5 last night at the Trop, evening the score in this vital series that the Rays (72-60) have to win.

Beckett was down 5-1 after three innings but he struck around long enough to go six respectable innings. He gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits with nine strikeouts.

Rays starter Matt Garza has had a forgettable season but he always seems to pick it up a notch vs. the Red Sox. He lasted 6.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

One of the trademarks of Beckett not pitching well is the abundance of homers he gives up.

Carl Crawford hit a solo shot in the first. Jason Bay tied it with an RBI triple in the second. The Rays scored three times in the third: Pat Burrell (2 hits, 2 RBIs) hit a solo homer, Akinori Iwamura had an RBI single and Gregg Zaun (3 hits) scored on B.J. Upton's sacrifice.

Zaun's RBI double in the third made it 5-1 but the Red Sox slowly started to comeback. Two in the fourth on a David Ortiz groundout and a J.D. Drew RBI single cut it to 5-3.

Victor Martinez hit an RBI single in the seventh and pinch runner Joey Gathright (former Rays great) tied it in the eighth after J.P. Howell threw a wild pitch.

Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen blew it in the eighth as Burrell touched up Ramirez with a run scoring single and Evan Longoria blasted a two-run bomb on the first pitch from Delcarmen.

The rubber match tonight is between both team's promising young pitchers: Clay Buchholz vs. David Price. It's a meaningful one since a Boston win is up 2.5 games on the Rangers in the wild card and 5 on the Rays.

Nine out of ten blue hairs agree: the Rays own the Sox

Evan Longoria and the Tampa Bay Rays continued their recent dominance over the Boston Red Sox as they outlasted the Boston Red Sox, 4-2 last night in 13 innings at Tropicana Field.

Longoria hit a walk-off two run bomb (his second homer of the game) in the first of two games between these two playoff contenders (one of which will likely miss the playoffs).

In a pitching rematch from last fall's ALCS game 7, Jon Lester and Matt Garza proved why their some of MLB's best starting pitchers. Neither earned a decision but they were both on top of their games.

Lester went six innings, allowing a run on three hits, with two walks and ten strikeouts.

Garza lasted seven innings, giving up two runs on three hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Boston (62-43) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second on Kevin Youkilis' solo homer. Things looked even better in the sixth when Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) made it 2-0 with another solo shot.

As per usual, the Rays (59-48) didn't go way as Jason Bartlett (2 hits, 2 walks, RBI) knocked in Carlos Pena with an infield single in the seventh.

Longoria tied it with a solo homer in the eighth and predictably ended it with his bomb in the 13th. For the season, Longoria has seven homers and 25 RBIs against the Red Sox.

Boston's bullpen danced out of trouble in the 8th and 10th as they somehow escaped bases-loaded, no out jams without giving up a run.

Brad Penny goes against David Price tonight so who knows what to expect from either unpredictable guy.

If you think the Rays were a fluke, you're an idiot (that probably calls WEEI every day)

Well what do you know, the Tampa Bay Rays took two of three in the season opening series at Fenway.

Yesterday afternoon, the Rays (2-1) won 4-3 behind three home runs and the strong pitching of Matt Garza (1-0).

The bat-shit crazy but extremely talented righty baffled the Sox (1-2) for seven innings: one run on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

On the other side, the mystery, wrapped inside an enigma, wrapped inside a Fenway Frank that is Daisuke Matsuzaka got his 2009 campaign off to a mediocre start.

Like most Americans, I could care less that the Dice man was the World Baseball Classic MVP for the second time in a row, just a few weeks ago. As much as ESPN will try to convince me otherwise, that competition means nothing. This is Matsuzaka's third season in MLB and I feel like I already know what to expect from him: a high-wire act that's usually successful but ultimately underwhelming long-term.

Dice-K (0-1) lasted 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Matt Joyce hit a solo homer in the second for Tampa Bay. Evan Longoria (3 hits)-who is easily one of the top young players in baseball-blasted a two-run bomb in the third and finally, backup catcher Shawn Riggens hit a solo shot in the fourth.

Once Matsuzaka exited, the Sox bullpen actually did a nice job keeping their team in the game while the bats slightly woke up.

Jason Bay's RBI triple knocked in Kevin Youkilis (3 hits, 2 runs) to make it 4-1 in the sixth.

Mike Lowell doubled home Youk in the eighth to cut the lead to two (4-2).

Without question, the Rays' biggest weakness is at closer where fossilized relic Troy Percival still gets the call (for the next few weeks at least before he breaks a hip or throws out his back). Jason Varitek took him deep in the ninth and David Ortiz walked but Youk flew out to deep center to end it.

The Sox travel to Anaheim to face the Angels in a three game set. No clue what to expect from a team that was just struck by tragedy. Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed by a drunk driver on Wednesday night after starting for the team. Their game yesterday against the A's was cancelled.

Season's over: Sox lose a game

As quickly as the bandwagon fans and brain-dead media get hyped after a relatively easy opening day win, it takes roughly the same amount of time to get down as the Red Sox came back to earth last night with a 7-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway.

In a duel of great lefties, Tampa's Scott Kazmir (1-0) came out on top of Boston's Jon Lester (0-1). Kazmir went six innings, allowing one run on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts. Lester was gone after five innings of work. He gave up five runs on eight hits, with two walks and five strikeouts.

Lester is thought to be a top contender for the AL Cy Young this season so seeing him start out really well (all five strikeouts in the first two innings) then completely unravel was surprising to say the least.

The Rays pushed across their first run in the third on a throwing error by Kevin Youkilis.

He atoned for that mistake with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning which scored Dustin Pedroia. Youk finished with three hits, the only bright spot in a Sox lineup that struck out eight times and left nine on base.

Tampa Bay (1-1) showed it can play any style of baseball in the fifth inning. First, Jason Bartlett (three hits) executed a perfect safety squeeze, which scored former Sox player/minor league manager/bodybuilder Gabe Kapler. Lester got Evan Longoria to ground into a double play but a run still scored.

The most damaging play of the game was later in the fifth when Carlos Pena hit a two-run bomb to center, giving Tampa a commanding 5-1 lead.

Longoria hit a solo shot in the eighth off Takashi Saito (making his Red Sox debut) and Boston responded with one in their half of the inning when Jason Bay doubled home David Ortiz.

Carl Crawford's infield single in the ninth accounted for the last run of the game.

The series wraps up this afternoon with a day game pitting Matt Garza against Dice-K.

Sox stave off elimination in ALCS with comeback win for the ages

Where to begin? The Tampa Bay Rays were crusing along in game 5 at Fenway, nursing a 7-0 lead with nine outs to go from the World Series. Somehow, someway, the Boston Red Sox recovered to get a walk-off 8-7 win thanks to J.D. Drew's RBI double in the ninth. The seven-run deficit and comeback was the second biggest in MLB playoff history.

Following the exact same script from the first two games at Fenway, the Rays jumped on the Sox' starting pitcher immediately. B.J. Upton (who at the moment looks like the greatest player in MLB history) had a two-run bomb off Dice-K that just got over the Monster.

Carlos Pena (2 hits, walk) followed suit with another two-run homer in the third off Dice-K and Evan Longoria added a solo shot. Like Lester and Beckett before him, Matsuzaka had nothing in Boston's most important game of the year. He lasted only four innings, giving up five runs (all earned) on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

When Tampa Bay scored twice more in the top of the seventh, Upton (2 runs, 3 hits, 4 RBI, walk) knocked in two more with a double, I can't even blame the frauds that filled the seats at Fenway for leaving. Down 7-0, the Sox bats had been completely lifeless in the last 2+ games, who really thought they'd have such an epic ending?

Lost in all the chaos after such a dramatic win was the great performance by Rays starter Scott Kazmir. Countless lazy Boston writers had criticized Joe Maddon for going with Kazmir in game 5 yet all he did was throw six scoreless innings (something that the Red Sox would kill for at this point). Kazmir allowed two hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, the Red Sox finally woke up from their cryogenic slumber. Dustin Pedroia singled in Jed Lowrie to make it 7-1 Tampa Bay. David Oritz came up with two men on and for the first time in the 2008 playoffs, Big Papi delivered. He blasted a three-run homer off Dingo-herder Grant Balfour.

The season was hanging in the balance so Terry Francona smartly went to his best arm in the seventh-Jonathan Papelbon. He let two inherited runners score in the seventh but settled down to pitch a scoreless eighth.

In the home half of the eighth the Sox tied it up on J.D. Drew's two-run homer off Dan Wheeler and Coco Crisp's clutch 10 pitch at-bat and RBI single. When it was happening live, I thought in my head that it was Crisp's best at-bat of his Red Sox career.

Justin Masterson worked around a hit and walk in the ninth to retire Longoria on a double play ball to end the inning. At that point, you had a feeling that there was no way Tampa was winning this game.

Drew did the honors as he drove in Kevin Youkilis with an RBI single off J.P. Howell. Youkilis had a great 10 pitch at bat as well before he singled. Howell walked Jason Bay before Drew delivered with another chapter cementing his place as a Boston sports legend (grand slam in game 6 of the 2007 ALCS says hello as well).

Hideki Okajima was another unsung hero in the win as he pitched two scoreless innings after Dice-K's meltdown. It had to be the earliest Okajima has ever entered a game for Boston.

So the series shifts back to Tampa Bay tomorrow night with the Phillies waiting at home for the winner, in the World Series. The Rays had all the momentum in the series and looked like a sure bet to wrap it up last night. However, I can't think of many other soul-crushing losses like last night in any sport. The fact that the Rays are such a young, inexperienced team means that this loss might linger even longer than it would with a more veteran team. Who knows? It all comes down to if Josh Beckett can give Boston anything tomorrow night against James Shields. It's been three straight dogshit starts from Red Sox pitchers. If Boston wins game 6, you can bank on them winning the series. But let's not get too ahead of ourselves, the Rays have shown themselves to be a ridiculously talented team all year, particularly in the first two plus games at Fenway.

Counting on (another) Miracle

The Tampa Bay Rays aren't just beating the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS, they're setting records in the process and embarrassing the defending World Series champs. The Rays became the first team to score 9+ runs in three consecutive playoff games yesterday as they cruised to a 13-4 win in game 4 at Fenway. Tampa Bay takes a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

It didn't take long to see that Tim Wakefield didn't have anything for the Sox. Carlos Pena (3 runs, 2 walks) hit a two-run homer in the first and Evan Longoria (2 runs, 2 RBIs, walk) followed that with a solo shot.

Willy Aybar had a career night (4 for 5, 5 RBIs) and he blasted a two-run homer in the third, giving Tampa Bay a 5-0 lead.

Boston got a solo homer from Kevin Cash in the bottom of the inning but that was it.

In 2.1 innings, Wakefield was charged with five runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Once again, the Rays got an solid start from its pitcher. Andy Sonnanstine went 7.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

Tampa put it away with a run in the fifth and five in the sixth. Carl Crawford was 5 for 5 with 3 runs, 2 RBIs and two steals.

Kevin Youkilis had an RBI groundout in the seventh but the Rays scored twice more in the eighth. The Sox finally found a Rays pitcher they can handle as Dustin Pedroia and Youkilis had an RBI single and double respectively off of Edwin Jackson in mop-up duty in the eighth.

Need some positive thinking? The last two times the Red Sox have faced a 3-1 deficit in the playoffs (2004 ALCS and 2007 ALCS), they've comeback and swept the World Series. When you think about it, it's not like we could have expected those results when they were facing elimination. Still, the Rays couldn't have any more momentum at this point. Everything is going their way for good reason. Boston can't hit, isn't getting starting pitching and the bullpen is a mess.

Dice-K will face Scott Kazmir tomorrow night at Fenway in game 5. The Sox need a spark, something to get them going and send this series back to the Trop. Otherwise, it's going to be a long offseason as the team is forced to reflect on its collapse against the Rays.

Rays demolish Red Sox, 9-1

The one sure thing in the Red Sox rotation couldn't get the job done yesterday afternoon at Fenway. Tampa Bay got to Jon Lester and made it a laugher, 9-1, in game 3 of the ALCS. The Rays take a 2-1 lead in the series.

Lester lasted 5.2 innings in a game where Boston needed more from their ace. He allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Matt Garza on the other hand, gave the Rays a perfect start. He went six innings, giving up a run on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

Evan Longoria scored in the second on Dioner Navarro's RBI groundout to make it 1-0 Tampa Bay. The Rays added four in the third on B.J. Upton's three-run bomb and Longoria's solo shot. Those two guys are currently killing the Sox.

Boston got runners at first and third in the seventh but could only come away with one run as Jacoby Ellsbury knocked in Jason Varitek with a sacrifice fly. Ellsbury, David Ortiz and Varitek are a combined 0-for-34 in the series.

The pride of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Rocco Baldelli sent Red Sox fans to the exits with a three-run homer in the eighth off Paul Byrd. Carlos Pena, from Haverhill, MA/Northeastern added a solo shot in the ninth.

Something needs to be shaken up with the Sox' lineup. Varitek will sit tonight as Kevin Cash catches starter Tim Wakefield. Coco Crisp (never thought I'd say this) should be in there over Jacoby Ellsbury. Coco is a terrible leadoff hitter so have Pedroia do it (which he proved capable of during the season).

It's pretty much a must-win for Boston tonight with Wakefield going against Andy Sonnanstine. If Boston loses tonight, they might not even make it back to Tampa. Right now, the Rays are beating them in every facet of the game.

Mike Timlin shouldn't be on the ALCS roster, let alone in a close game

For a playoff game that lasted five hours and 27 minutes over 11 innings, it might be surprising to hear that one decision made all the difference in the final outcome. With only Paul Byrd and Mike Timlin left in the bullpen heading into the bottom of the 11th, Red Sox manager Terry Francona made the wrong decision: he put Timlin in over Byrd (who hasn't appeared yet in the playoffs).

At that point, I knew it was over (most likely in that inning). I'm not that cynical but after watching Timlin completely lose his stuff the last two seasons, I felt like it was impossible that he'd be able to hold off the ultra-resilient Rays. Lo and behold, he walked three (one intentionally) and B.J. Upton hit a shallow sacrifice fly to right that scored pinch runner Fernando Perez. Tampa Bay won game 2, 9-8, evening the series at one game apiece.

You can't really say the Red Sox deserved to win. A couple players were outstanding and it's not like Tampa was that much better, however the law of averages had to tell you that there was no way Boston would take the first two games at the Trop.

Neither Josh Beckett nor Scott Kazmir were anything like they're capable of showing. In 4.1 innings, Beckett gave up eight earned runs on nine hits with one walk and five strikeouts. Kazmir lasted 4.1 innings, giving up five earned runs on six hits with three walks and two strikeouts. The two supposed aces each allowed three home runs.

The loss for Boston did spoil amazing performances by Jason Bay, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis. Bay had three hits (including a double and homer), a walk and four RBIs. Youk had three hits (homer), two runs and an RBI. Finally, Pedroia cranked two homers off of Kazmir, a single, four runs, two RBIs and a walk.

Other than that, the Red Sox had some black holes in the lineup. Jacoby Ellsbury was 0-for-6, Mark Kotsay was 0-for-6, Jason Varitek was 0-for-3 before he was lifted for a pinch hitter. Jed Lowrie and David Ortiz didn't get a hit but they both walked three times and Coco Crisp added three hits.

Evan Longoria was the headliner for the Rays. He was 3-for 5 (2 doubles, homer) with three runs and three RBIs. Upton had a homer, two RBIs, two runs, walk and steal. Carlos Pena had two hits, two runs and an RBI while Carl Crawford had two hits and two RBIs.

Bay put Boston up 2-0 in the first with a two-run double which scored Ortiz and Youkilis. Longoria responded in the bottom of the first with a two-run blast off Beckett, scoring himself and Pena.

Pedroia hit his first homer in the third while Upton tied it back up with a moonshot of his own in the bottom of the third. Crawford gave the Rays the lead later in the inning with an RBI single.

The most unforgivable mistake by Beckett was in the fourth when Cliff Floyd hit a solo homer to center, making it 5-3 Rays.

Boston hit three homers in the fifth, retaking the lead at 6-5 and knocking Kazmir out of the game. Pedroia, Youkilis and Bay did the honors.

Hoping to get one more inning out of Beckett, Francona left him in there to start the bottom of the fifth. Pena touched him up for an RBI single, Longoria had an RBI double and Crawford took Beckett out with another RBI single.

Bay cut it to 8-7 in the sixth with an RBI single and Boston tied it in the eighth when Pedroia scored on Dan Wheeler's wild pitch.

Wheeler was the unsung hero of the game for the Rays as he went 3.1 scoreless innings (48 pitches), with four strikeouts. Think the Rays wanted this one?

The fact that David Price, the No. 1 pick in 2007, was the last reliever that Tampa used (he got the win), is funny when you think about who the Red Sox were forced to use. No idea why Francona went to Timlin vs. Byrd who could go multiple innings and has great control (he wouldn't have walked all those hitters).

Both teams used all their best arms out of the bullpen. Delcarmen, Okajima, Masterson and Papelbon for the Sox. Balfour, Howell, Bradford and Miller for Tampa Bay.

The series shifts to Fenway tomorrow afternoon for game 3, followed by games 4 and 5 which will also be in Boston. The Sox need to take at least two out of three. They can't go back to Tampa down 3-2 and forced to win two elimination games at the Trop. Jon Lester goes against Matt Garza in what should be much more a pitcher's duel than game 2.

The Tampa Bay Rays, 2008 AL East Champions

Last night when the Tampa Bay Rays lost to the Detroit Tigers, 6-4, Boston's slim AL East hopes spent a few more hours on life support. Unfortunately, between multiple rain delays, the Red Sox' B squad (94-66) got pummelled by the Yankees (88-72), 19-8, thereby ending any intrigue for the last two games.

Boston's expectations of coming back and somehow taking the division were illustrated by their decision to start David Pauley. No use in wasting one of the top end starters when the odds were stacked against the Red Sox.

About the only noteworthy positive thing to come out of the game for Boston was the continued hot streak of Jacoby Ellsbury. He was 4 for 5 with his ninth homer of the year and 50th stolen base. He got his average up to .280. Evan Longoria is the no-brainer choice for AL rookie of the year but Ellsbury will get some votes too after a rough middle of the year.

Kevin Youkilis also hit a homer, his 29th of the season. Who knows if he'll play much in the last two games (or if they happen since we're in the middle of a monsoon in New England) but it'd be nice to see Youk get 30 bombs.

Boston is the AL Wild Card and will travel to play the Angels in the Divisional series, starting either Wednesday or Thursday.

Hey Look Honey, Jacoby Ellsbury's on base

In big markets like Boston (New York, Philly, LA, Chicago, etc.), we tend to overhype and overvalue our young players in any sport, especially baseball. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that when everyone's favorite Native American Jacoby Ellsbury took the American League by storm last year, we figured that this season-his official rookie year-would be filled with about 100 steals and a .330 average. Realistic, no?

Well surprise, surprise, after a solid start to the season, Ellsbury fell into a black hole the last few months, meaning that he was dropped to ninth in the order, something that would have been unthinkable even in May. With the emergence of Evan Longoria in Tampa Bay, Ellsbury's rookie of the year trophy is currently hanging out with the Patriots unbeaten, Super Bowl champs t-shirts but that doesn't really matter. Over the last two games, Ellsbury has showed signs of being the leadoff hitter the Sox saw last season, particularly in the playoffs.

Hitting seventh last night, Jacoby had one of the best games of his short pro career as he went 3 for 5 with 2 runs, 3 RBIs and one spectacular catch.

The Red Sox (66-49) took care of business in Kansas City (53-62) after dropping the first game of the series, winning last night's finale 8-2.

No longer possessing the best 3-4 combo in baseball, Boston is relying on a more diverse attack. Pseudo leadoff man J.D. Drew was 2-for-4 with a 2 RBIs, a run and walk. Rookie Jed Lowrie hit second for the first time and delivered with a two-run double, walk and run. Jason Bay continued to chug along with two runs and two hits.

The only bad news was that Kevin Youkilis got hit on the wrist with a Luke Hochevar pitch in the first and had to leave. X-Rays were negative so I wouldn't be surprised if Youk is in the lineup tomorrow night when the Red Sox open their series in Chicago against the White Sox.

A constant victim of bad luck and little run support, Tim Wakefield (7-8) pitched six innings for the win. The knuckleballer gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits with six strikeouts.

Manny Delcarmen gave up two hits but pitched a scoreless seventh. Rookie Justin Masterson pitched a clean eighth with two strikeouts while closer Jonathan Papelbon got some work in the ninth, giving up two hits but no runs in a non-save situation.

Lowrie's double broke the scoreless tie in the fifth. David Ortiz's RBI single scored Lowrie, giving Boston a 3-0 lead.

Ross Gload's two-run single in the fifth cut the Boston lead to one but the Sox reeled off five more before it was all said and done.

Drew had a two-run single in the sixth and Ellsbury hit a three-run bomb to center off reliever Ron Mahay in the seventh, his first career homer off a lefty.

The Sox travel today and have an off-day before beginning a big four-game set with the AL Central leading White Sox.

That'll Do Tampa Bay, That'll Do

Nothing will quite get you in the holiday mood for drowning your sorrows at the nearest Fourth of July party like watching your favorite team be exposed by an up-and-coming contender.

Down 4-1 going into the seventh, the Rays rallied for six runs in the inning, before holding off Boston 7-6, last night at the Trop.

Tampa Bay (52-32, the best record in baseball) swept the three-game series against the Red Sox and last night was the real kick to the groin. Boston has now lost five games in a row.

Lil' Dustin Pedroia did everything he could do to keep his team in the game but it wasn't enough. The second-year second baseman was 4 for 5 with three runs and two RBIs. He actually fell a single shy of the cycle and he had two doubles. J.D. Drew was 2 for 4 with a triple, run, RBI and walk.

A pitcher's duel between Dice-K and Scott Kazmir never really materialized as both struggled with high pitch counts early in the game.

Dice-K went five innings, giving up one run on two hits with five walks and five strikeouts.

Kazmir also only lasted five, allowing four runs on seven hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

The biggest area where the Red Sox (50-37) were exposed over the past three games was in the middle relief department. With Hideki Okajima struggling, we currently don't have a bonafide 8th inning guy (which is extremely important) and therefore everything short of Jonathan Papelbon (who didn't even pitch in the series) is a mess.

Surprisingly, Okajima had a scoreless sixth last night (with two strikeouts). His ineffectiveness must be contagious though as it popped up in Manny Delcarmen (3 runs, 3 hits, no outs) and Craig Hansen (1-3; 3 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks, no outs), who completely butchered the seventh.

On the other side, Tampa's trio of Trevor Miller (scoreless sixth), Gary Glover (1-2; 1 run, 1 hit, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 5 outs) and Dan Wheeler (3rd save; 1 run, 1 hit, 1 strikeout, 4 outs) weren't spectacular but they did enough to win.

Rookie Evan Longoria was the Rays' hitting star, going 3 for 4 with three RBIs and a run. Carl Crawford had three hits and Jason Bartlett added two hits, two RBIs and a run.

Pedroia hit a solo homer in the first inning to put Boston up 1-0 but Longoria came back with an RBI single in the bottom of the first.

Manny Ramirez knocked in Pedroia with a ground out in the third, putting the Sox up 2-1.

Boston added two more runs in the fifth as Drew's triple plated Pedroia and Drew scored on a Kazmir wild pitch.

The Rays seventh was ridiculous as the Sox simply couldn't get an out. Akinori Iwamura reached on an infield single while Bartlett scored. Carlos Pena walked with the bases loaded. Longoria doubled, plating Crawford and B.J. Upton. Finally, Bartlett singled to center, scoring Pena and Longoria.

Bidding to reach the cycle in his fifth at bat, Pedroia instead drove in Julio Lugo with an RBI double.

Kevin Youkilis looked like the hero in the ninth when he drove a ball hard and deep to center but Upton tracked it down. Manny scored on the sacrifice fly but the Sox ran themselves into an out. For some reason, twice in a row Terry Francona had Mike Lowell running from first with strikeout machine Jason Varitek (who's currently in the worst slump of his career) at the plate. After fouling it off the first time, Varitek swung and missed before Lowell was out at second by some distance. I guess it really doesn't matter though, since Varitek was caught looking later in the at bat to end the game.

For once the Sox go to the Bronx and the hype isn't sickening. It probably has something to do with the Fourth being tomorrow. Nothing puts people over the edge like planning a holiday, particularly with family. I don't know if you've heard but it's the the most important day of our lives.

Jon Lester is facing Andy Pettitte tonight. Barring a sweep by either team, this series won't determine much. It will be nice to see the Yankees, it seems like forever since they last played and it's timely as A-Rod is at the center of another tabloid cyclone (his rumored affair with Madonna).

Happy Fourth of July, Go Sox!

These Aren't Your Grandpa's Rays

Yesterday's 3-0 loss to the Rays constituted a lost weekend for the Boston Red Sox.

They've now lost five in a row and are percentage points behind both Baltimore and Tampa Bay for first place in the new-look AL East. The Rays (14-11) have won six straight.

Boston (15-12) wasted a great outing from Josh Beckett (2-2), who pitched seven innings, giving up four hits, two runs (1 earned), one walk and 13 strikeouts.

On the other side, James Shields (3-1) was just a little better. He pitched a complete game on 99 pitches: allowing two hits and striking out seven.

In the third, Jason Bartlett reached base on a Beckett error then came around to score when J.D. Drew relayed his throw from RF into the ground.

Tampa Bay doubled the lead when rookie sensation Evan Longoria hit a solo homer in the seventh.

The final straw was when Carl Crawford hit an RBI double off Manny Delcarmen to put the Rays up 3-0 in the eighth. The slumping Sox weren't likely to come back from down 2-0 but 3-0 was more than enough to clinch it.

David Ortiz was out again and Mike Lowell finished up his rehab with Pawtucket. With Sean Casey on the DL, the Sox have run into some injury problems early in the season. There's no need to panic since they'll be fine (shortly) but it is not fun watching your team lose five in a row.

After the off-day today, Toronto comes to Fenway tomorrow for three games.