4/23/15

GENERAL INFO:

RED SOX (9-6, 1ST IN AL EAST) VS RAYS (7-8 5TH IN AL EAST)Tropicana FieldSeries tied 1-1TV Network: SUN

PRE-GAME INFO/BACKGROUND

Tonight marks the night of the completion of a series between the Red Sox in the Tampa Bay rays. The series is currently split and if the Sox were able to pick up a win tonight they would keep their streak alive of winning every series to start the season.

The Red Sox are sixth in Major League Baseball was 76 runs scored this season and Tampa Bay's 21st in baseball with 58 runs scored the season. Boston is 29th in the league this year with 13 doubles hit as a team, despite having one of the most double friendly ballparks in the game. Both teams are in the bottom third of the league in ERA as a whole pitching staff. Tampa Bay is first in the league with only four errors committed defensively as a team on the season. The Red Sox come in with a +21 run differential on the season, while Tampa Bay is a -11. MLB STAT LEADERShttp://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting

Something being talked about heavily around the Red Sox organization has been the lack of play that has been able to be found by head coach John Farrell for that of Allen Craig. Craig was a guy that the Red Sox got via trade for John Lackey accompanied with Joe Kelly who also came to the Red Sox just last season. Craig is getting the start tonight in left field for Shane Victorino.http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/30399/allen-craighttp://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/31992/joe-kellyhttp://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/5409/shane-victorino

Heading into tonight's game the Red Sox are coming off a loss last night where it was highlighted by home runs from Big Papi (David Ortiz) and Dustin Pedroia, but the Red Sox bullpen fell short after Joe Kelly had another great start.

Pitchers:(TAM) Jake Odorizzi- 2-1, 1.74 ERA http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/31654/jake-odorizzi(BOS) Clay Buchholz- 1-2, 6.06 ERAhttp://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/28855/clay-buchholz

LINEUPS

http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/roster/_/name/bos

http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/roster/_/name/tb

PLAY-BY-PLAY/ GAMENOTES

BOLD= BATTER NAMES

Top 1 st

Jake Odorizzi to pitch.

Note- Odorizzi, #3 starter for Rays, is coming off a loss to the Yankees, his first of the season, where the Yankees swept the Rays in the series.http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/depth/_/name/tb/tampa-bay-rays

Mookie Betts - Leadoff hitter. 2/8 in series. Betts grounded out on the second pitch of the game to the second baseman.

Note- Needs to start thinking about seeing more pitches to lead off the game, so his batters behind him can see more pitches.

Dustin Pedroia -2/9 in series. Had seven home runs all last year and already hit his fourth home run of the year last night in just his 14th game of the year. He is re-finding that bat with pop that we used to see when he came up with about 17 to 20 home runs a year. Odorizzi matched Pedroia with his strength of hitting and up and in fastball and Pedroia was not able to handle it and he struck out swinging.

David Ortiz (BIG PAPI) -Papi hit a home run in last rights game that was well over 450 feet, but in his first at bat of the game tonight he rolled over on the third pitch of the at-bat to the right side and hit to the shift where the second baseman threw him out at first. Odorizzi kept the ball down throughout much of the at-bat to stay away from Ortiz.

Btm 1st

Clay Buchholz to pitch.

Note- Buchholz, Red Sox #1 starter, trying to get back on track after having a quality opening-day start against the Phillies, and following up with two bad starts against the Yankees and the Orioles. The question around the Red Sox organization as if Clay can be not just a number one but a top end of the rotation type guy that he once was back in 2012. One could argue that he is not, and the fact that he has to face a bunch of number one pitchers does not help him at all. Back in 2012 he had protection from that of John Lester.http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/depth/_/name/bos

David DeJesus- hits .400 against Clay, and Clay is working in on the plate DeJesus. Good set up pitches by Buchholz to work in the entire at-bat and then go off the plate on DeJesus with a changeup, then follows it up with a front door curveball that gets DeJesus looking, to start the game.

Note- Last time out for Clay, he through six innings and gave up 11 hits but only two runs. This season Clay has thrown 68% fastballs, 19% breaking balls and 13% changeups.

Steven Souza Jr.-Saw several pitches down in the zone to start the at bat that then he got a pitch up and over the heart of the plate and ripped it towards third-base. But Pablo Sandoval laid out moving from right to left to diving stop the ball and throw it across to Mike Napoli at first base for the second out of the inning.

Asdrubal Cabrera- Had multiple hits in last night's game after starting the season 2/32. That put him in the three hole for tonight's game against Clay, and he flew out to deep center field on the second pitch of the at-bat where Mookie Betts was able to track it down.

Top 2

Pablo Sandoval (PANDA) -Ripped an inside pitch down the right-field line for a standup double on the first pitch of the at-bat to get the leadoff man on, his second double of the season.

Note- Getting the leadoff man on his so pivotal in baseball and can alter how John Farrell coaches the rest of the inning, possibly opting to go small ball and bunt over Sandoval. But, with a bat like Mike Napoli hitting behind Sandoval he might let Napoli swing away.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Farrell_(manager)

Napoli- No home runs yet this season after hitting six in spring training. Napoli is swinging at bad pitches this at-bat both up and down, pitches that would've been two balls. Napoli rebounds well and gets a base hit to the right side to advance Sandoval to third, on the fielder's choice for the first of the inning.

Note- Napoli is coming back from off-season surgery, where it was a very complex surgery to correct his breathing for his sleep apnea. Napoli literally could not sleep through the night and was suffering to get rest.http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2394884-how-a-gruesome-surgery-saved-mike-napolis-mlb-career

Note- Hanley Ramirez is available off the bench for the Red Sox tonight and Victorino is listed day-to-day with a hamstring injury that he suffered in last night's game.

Daniel Nava - Nava hits a blooping flyball to center field where Kevin Kiermaier came running in on it and made a strong throw to home but not before Sandoval is able to cross the plate. The throw was off the mark but it made a sacrifice fly for Nava. Sox up 1-0.

Note- Gets a spot start in the outfield, marking his seventh start of the year. He was 2/3 in game one of the series but did not play in last night's game.

Allen Craig- Odorizzi gets Craig chasing a high fastball and it is a pop up to first base that Dykstra is able to handle for the final out of the inning.

Note- Craig has had a slow start to the season with limited at-bats, 2/17. Drove in Pedroia on Monday against Baltimore for his first RBI of the season.

Btm 2 nd

Note- Buchholz played with Kevin Cash, manager of the Rays, while in AA. Cash did a lot with Cleveland under Terri Francona.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Cash

Evan Longoria- Clay works in on him, knowing Longoria has only one home run the season and is batting in the low .200’s in the cleanup spot. But, going in on him is a bad idea as Longoria turns on the fifth pitch of the at-bat and hits it into the deepest part of the ballpark in left-center field for a ground rule double. 5th double of the season for Evan. Note- Longoria may be starting to heat up as he was batting below 200 before the Red Sox came into town.http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/28639/evan-longoria

Desmond Jennings- Gets the job done on the first pitch of the at-bat and hits one to the right side to advance Longoria 90 feet to third base. Only one out in the inning.

Allan Dykstra-off with one out gets hit by Buchholz on the second pitch of the at-bat. Clay tried to go in on the hands and nailed him.

It is Sandy León’s first time ever catching Clay, it was Ryan Hanigan earlier in the season.

Logan Forsythe- Comes up with runners on first and third, corners are up and middle back for the Red Sox. Clay starts off with a good first pitch strike to rebound. Forsyth comes up with the big base hit up the middle on the second pitch data back to score Longoria. Score now tied at one.

Kevin Kiermaier- With runners on first and second with one out, and he has four runs batted in on the season. Clay all over the plate with two straight balls to start the at-bat. Clay falls behind 3-1 in count and makes a great pitch on the slider down and in that Kiermaier hits foul, moving the account to full. Clay goes back to his best pitch, his changeup on the corner to get Kiermaier looking.

Note- Great pitch called by León to know Clay’s stuff. You know that León called that pitch because Clay did not shake him off.

Rene Rivera- Up with two outs and runners on first and second. 3/29 as of late has struggled at the plate but battles in his first at-bat against Clay. Clay does a good job of keeping the ball down in the zone and keeping it off the plate in this at bat. Clay finishes the inning with back-to-back strikeouts as he gets Rivera chasing a slider blown away.

Note- Clay through two innings has 32 pitches thrown and is starting to find his groove.

TOP 3

Note- Sox have held a share of first place 15 of the first 17 days to start the season. Last year they only held control of first place for one day during the season.

Xander Bogaerts- Bogart has warning track power on a pitch up, but is tracked in for a long fly ball for the first out of the inning. It's 404 to straightaway center and Bogart's hit it about 401.Note- Bogaerts the potential shortstop of the future for the Red Sox. Tall, nice pop, and incredible range at shortstop. Coming into his own batting .294 with eight RBIs to start the season.http://www.soxprospects.com/players/bogaerts-xander.htm

Sandy León- Grounds out to first base on the second pitch of the at-bat.Note- Former National player, .200 to start season last played over the weekend in the Baltimore series. Best game of the year was back on April 13 against Washington when he was three for four with a run and an RBI.

Betts- Top-of-the-line of comes up with two outs. Odorizzi walks Betts on four pitches and now Dustin coming to the plate.

Note- Broke up a streak of five retired in a row by Odorizzi.Note- Betts is a guy that is regarded as one of the best prospects in baseball, if you still deem him a prospect, and one of the most electric players in the game already at a young age. He is a five tool guy who the Red Sox had to give the job in centerfield after his incredible spring campaign, making the outfield a tough spot to play for any guy on the Sox team; Victorino, Craig, Ramírez and Nava.http://www.soxprospects.com/players/betts-mookie.htmNote- Fast guy on first base always a threat.

Pedroia- Struck out his last at-bat. Betts takes off on the second pitch of the at-bat, on what was a great pitch for the catcher Rivera to throw down on, up and away, but he still cannot throw out Mookie. Cash thought about challenging the play but then was advised not to. With now a runner in scoring position Jake follows it up with the pitch down in the zone and gets destined to roll over to the shortstop to an inning. Score still at 1-1.Note- It was Mookie’s the fifth stolen base of the season.

BTM 3

DeJesus- top of the order comes up to start the inning and Clay starts him off with a nice curveball low in the zone for strike one. Then Clay gets David to chase on fastball up that he fouls off to the backstop. After Clay started the count 1-2, the count was pushed full on a good at bat by David. David has an incredible add that drawing 11 pitches and upping the pitch count of Clay, all while drawing a walk. Doing what a leadoff hitter should do.Note- Clay showing good life on his fastball reaching 93 at times, when he came up as a prospect to use the touch around 97-98 and that has dropped off in recent years.Note- DeJesus is 35 years old and has played all over the place namely with Kansas City.http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/dejesda01.shtml

Souza Jr.- Robbed his last at-bat by the Panda over at third base who made a diving stop. Leon makes a great snap throw from his knees at first base to try and back pick David, does not get him but you see Leon's great arm strength. Clay throws a great pitchers pitch on a 2-2 count low and on the corner to get his fourth strikeout of the game, this time looking by Souza.

Cabrera- Runner on first base with one out for Cabrera. León tries to pick David again over at first base on the back pick off and nearly does it, but David slides headfirst safe to first in the nick of time. Clay goes back upstairs and gets Cabrera chasing him a high fastball to pick up his fifth strikeout of the game.Note- Cabrera was great free-agent pickup from the Washington Nationals, where the Nationals got him from the Cleveland Indians as he was one of the top phenoms with his glove coming up in the game at shortstop.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1045853-cleveland-indians-asdrubal-cabrera-is-the-best-worst-defensive-shortstop-in-mlb

Longoria- Longoria rolls over on the first pitch of the at-bat to Pablo and ends the inning.

Notes- Longoria is argued as one of the best third baseman's in the game and was an absolute phenom when he came up to the big leagues, drafted out of Long Beach State. Won the Silver Slugger Award in 2009. He is also known for his acrobatic defense, winning two Gold Gloves at third base in 2009 and 2010. After signing a ten-year, 100 million-dollar contract extension through 2022, he has been named by many as the Rays "face of the franchise" and owns many of the franchise's records, including the team record for most career home runs, doubles, and RBIs. Longoria is Major League Baseball's active iron man leader, having played in 242 consecutive games through the end of the 2014 season. Longoria has fielded almost every game of his career at third base. He has played at shortstop once His postseason run back in 2008, alongside BJ Upton was nearly historical, where the two teamed up and single-handedly took the team to a World Series appearance against the Phillies, which they eventually lost. That postseason he had six home runs and 13 RBIs in 16 games played during his rookie campaign.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/longoev01.shtml

Top 4

Papi- Ortiz who has struggled in the early part of the season strikes out on a changeup up in the zone for the first out of the inning.Note- Has protection of Sandoval hitting behind them as a switch hitter, who has power as well. Ortiz has been a guy that people thought would die off over the last three seasons due to his age, and all he has done each year has hit close to .300 and over 30 home runs in 100 RBIs each season having a resurgence.

Panda- Sandoval grounds out to first base on an inside pitch. Odorizzi getting quick outs here in this inning but now has to face Napoli.Note- Sandoval batting .350 this year against right-handed pitching, 10th best in baseball.

Napoli- Facing the flyball type pitcher gets fastballs up in the zone from Odorizzi but can't handle them. Later in the count Napoli lays off the high pitches. Napoli grounds out to the shortstop to end the inning.Note- The fastball is hard to lay off because you see the ball so well coming out of the hand.

Note- Odorizzi has retired 11 of the last 12 batters and has around 60 pitches through four innings.

BTM 4

Jennings- Clay gets going quickly and gets Jennings on three straight pitches for his sixth strikeout of the game.Note- Jennings a highly touted outfield prospect with speed and contact hitting, which was why the Rays were apt to trade Will Myers.

Dykstra- rolls over on the first pitch of the at-bat to Napoli at first base for the second out of the inning. Note- Dykstra has to do a better job of seeing more pitches as he is batting just a hair above .100 on the season. Need more production out of your first baseman.

Forsythe- Forsythe walks on five pitches from Clay.Note- Walked yesterday with the bases loaded, in a big four-run sixth inning.

Kiermaier- Comes up with two outs and a runner on first base.. Clay throws a good pitch on a two seam fastball on the inside part of the plate and does not get the call from the umpire as he was walking off to the dugout, the count goes full. Clay goes back to his bread-and-butter and throws a 12-6 curveball about 59 feet to get Kiermaier chasing to end the inning.Note- Clay showing good command, throwing his cutter on good parts of the plate, even 70 pitches in to this game

TOP 5

Nava- Odorizzi gets Nava chasing after Nava had a sacrifice fly his first at-bat.Note- Nava blossomed late in his career and came up into the big leagues around the age of 30. Had an All-Star type year a couple years ago, and is having a tough time finding a way to get into the lineup was somebody outfielders this season.

Craig- Swings at the first pitch the at-bat and it is a flyball out to the centerfielder. Note- Odorizzi has now retired six batters in a row.

Bogaerts- Hits to the opposite side of the shift and drives the ball into right field with the second baseman playing behind the second base bag on the shift. Note- Xander a prototypical pull hitter gets a good job done by going the other way on the fastball.

León- A chance for León to gain some confidence with Xander on first base and two outs. León has great at-bat and draws a walk after the count went full.

Betts-Has runners on first and second with two outs and takes the first pitch to centerfield on a blooping fly-ball after his bat sawed off. An incredible play by the centerfielder Kiermaier outstretched and diving, hauls in the ball and records the final out of the inning.

BTM 5

Note- Rocco Baldelli coaching first base for the Rays, is an exciting thing to see after battling Mitochondrial Channelopathy disease and ending during his career early in his early 30s.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocco_Baldelli

Rivera- Helps out Buchholz with recording the first out of the inning on a fly ball to right center field.

DeJesus- Rolls over on the third pitch of the at-bat and Napoli records the second out of the inning. Note- Clay working fast and well here in the fifth.

Souza Jr.- Does not like the first pitch call for a strike from the umpire and shows him up a little bit by looking back at him. Clay follows it up with a 92 miles an hour paining the corner for strike two. Souza chases the ball up in the zone enclave picks up his eighth strikeout of the game. Souza throws his bat towards the dugout and gets into it with the umpire after the third out of the inning is called.Note- Not the first time that Souza has been unhappy tonight, after striking out looking last at-bat.

TOP 6

Pedroia- smokes the first pitch of the at-bat from Odorizzi up in the zone to center field, which is hauled in for a deep out.

Papi- 0/2 today, struck out his last at-bat. Odorizzi staying off the plate from Ortiz, Ortiz pops out to deep center field on the third pitch of the at-bat. Two outs. Notes- Three straight fly-balls to centerfield.Notes- Ortiz typically not a good hitter against Odorizzi, 0/12, in his career prior to the at-bat.

Panda- Takes a first pitch strike and then hits the second pitch to left field for a fly-ball out.

Note- Odorizzi, gets the side out easily, and the fly-ball pitcher records his fourth straight fly-ball out.

BTM 6

Note- Clay, 83 pitches into his outing, now has to face the heart of the order, trying to match Odorizzi pitch for pitch. Has only given up two hits but has struck out eight.

Cabrera- Cannot keep up with Clay's pitches and may have tweaked his elbow on the fourth pitch of the at-bat off the plate. Clay goes upstairs trying to get him

chasing and Cabrera holds off. The count goes full. Clay has a close cut fastball in on the plate that Cabrera does not chase and it draws ball four. Note- Bullpen now up for the Red Sox with Longoria coming to the plate.

Longoria- Note- A pull hitter who is looking something off the plate to try and drive to right field to advance the runner with no outs. Longoria prior to the game was 8/40 (.200) in his career against Clay, but is 1/2 tonight.At Bat- Clay goes back to the cutter and gets Longoria chasing on his back foot out in front of the pitch and moves the count to 1-2. Clay goes low and away on the corner with a 91 mile an hour fastball to get Longoria looking. Notes- Now 95 pitches into Clay’s outing, it will be interesting to see what Farrell does here with guys up in the bullpen. Clay's career-high in strikeouts was 12 last year against the Astros, he now has nine after striking out Longoria.

Note- Buchholz a completely different style to Odorizzi, as Clay pitches to the corners and Odorizzi throwing up and low in the zone trying to get fly-ball outs.

Jennings- Runner on first base with one out, Clay falls behind early in the count 2-0. Clay gets Jennings to chase a fastball on the outside part of the plate and Jennings rolls over on it to the hole between third base and shortstop and Bogaerts goes to second base on his back foot to get the lead runner.

Dykstra- Runner on first base with two outs to the struggling first baseman. After Clay paints the corner on the first pitch, Clay comes back to the changeup on the third pitch catching the corner to make the count 1-2. Look for a pitch in on the plate here. Clay tries to go fastball in but barely misses the zone, and then follows it up with a changeup off the plate, which Dykstra fouls off. Clay goes back to the cutter on the outside corner the plate and gets Dykstra chasing for his 10th strikeout of the game. Note- Over 100 pitches now in the game, you have to think that Farrell will come in with the new pitcher to start the seventh inning.

TOP 7

Note- Odorizzi retired four in a row prior to this inning on fly-balls.

Napoli- Takes the first pitch up and into left field for another fly-ball out. Note- Odorizzi being effective with his bread-and-butter, pitches up in the zone.

Nava- Falls behind early in the count to Odorizzi, 0-2, fouling one off, then takes the third pitch of the at-bat, low in the zone, and drives it to deep center field for yet another fly-ball out.

Craig- Breaks up a streak of six in a row retire by Odorizzi, all on flyball outs, by driving the second pitch of the at-bat up in the zone to left field for a base hit.

Bogaerts- Note-Had a single to the right side last time up, and was the last batter to get ahead in the lineup prior to Craig’s base hit to left field. At Bat- Two outs, runner on first and Odorizzi around 90 pitches on the night. Xander you can tell trying to see a lot of pitches going deep into the account. Draws a walk and puts runners on first and second with two outs.

Notes- Cash coming out to the mound to pull his starter after a great outing, bullpen coming in. Odorizzi, will be issued with the two runners on base, but if they do not score he will get the no decision. He had a great day throwing 6.2 innings and giving up one run on three hits, while striking out three and walking three. He lowered his ERA coming into the game 1.74 to 1.65.

Notes- Brandon Gomes comes in out of the bullpen who has appeared in two games. He has thrown 3.1 innings this season, not giving up a run and striking out three and opponents batting average at .091.

Change- Hanley Ramírez comes in to pinch hit.

Ramírez- Note- Batting .268 in the early part of his inaugural season with the Red Sox coming over from the Dodgers. 5 hr., 12 rbi, .333 obp. His five homeruns is tied for third in the league. Hanley has not disappointed this year coming over from the Dodgers and making a huge difference in the middle part of the Red Sox order. In his first ever season in the big leagues with the Marlins, he hit 17 homeruns where he won Rookie of the year in 2006. http://espn.go.com/mlb/statisticshttp://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/ramirha01.shtmlAt Bat- Ramirez see’s three straight balls trying to make the bullpen work with two runners on. Gomes battles back with two strikes in the lower half the zone. Count full, the runners will be moving on the pitch. Gomes throws a front door slider and strikes Ramírez out looking on the pitch, keeping the game close at 1-1 and getting Odorizzi off the hook.

Note- Give credit where credit's due to the two starting pitchers, both teams only have three and two hits respectively on the night.

BTM 7

Change- Ryan Hanigan behind the plate and Alexi Ogando on the mound in relief.

Notes- Alexi this season has appeared in six games and has a 4.50 ERA in six innings, giving up four hits and striking out six. Opponent’s batting average is .182.

Notes- Clay ends the game with six innings pitched, giving up one run on two hits. He struck out 10 while walking three. And lowered his ERA from 6.06 prior to the game to 4.84.

Forsythe- Alexi falls behind early and follows it up with a fastball over the heart of the plate to make the count, 2-1. The account eventually goes full and Forsythe chases a fastball on the outside part of the plate, rolling over on it to Xander who throws across the diamond for the first out of the inning.

Notes- Different looking pitcher in the game for the Red Sox as Buchholz was around 91 to 92 mph and Ogando in the mid-90s. Alexi has not given up a run his last three outings.

Kiermaier- Note- Struck out twice against Clay. At Bat- Rolls over on a fastball on the third pitch of the at-bat to Dustin for the second out of the inning.

Rivera- Alexi showing good command of his fastball, but falls behind 2-1. Narrowly misses a pitch off the zone on a 94 mph fastball, 3-1 now. The fifth pitch of an at-bat is a 95 mph fastball that misses the zone low for a walk.

DeJesus- Note- 0-2 with a walk in his first three at-bats. At Bat- Takes the first pitch from Alexi on the outside part of the zone and hits it to left field as Craig calls it in for a deep fly-ball out to end the inning.

TOP 8

Notes- Ex Anaheim Angel Kevin Jepsen into the game. Has thrown seven innings this season and has one loss. 1.29 ERA striking out seven, an opponent batting average .125. Jepsen is a hard throwing pitcher with fastballs that will reach the upper 90s, but struggles that time with command. Had two saves and 22 holds last season, with a 2.35 ERA coming out of the bullpen.

Notes- Sad to see only 13,834 fans in the stands tonight, with one of the lowest attendance teams and ballparks across the major leagues every year. There was only 12,733 fans in attendance for last night's game. They ranked dead last in baseball in attendance, while the Red Sox rank sixth.http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

Betts- Puts a great bat on a ball two deep left-center field where the centerfielder hauls in on the warning track for the first out of the inning. The fastball was up but Mookie just missed it.

Pedroia- Grounds out on the second pitch of the at-bat on a fastball low in the zone, now two outs.

Papi- Note- Ortiz 3/9 in career against Jepsen.At Bat- Jepsen starts him off with a low slider in the zone that Ortiz did not like the call for strike one. Papi checks on the second pitch of the at-bat, but does not go around, the replay will show that he did go around though. In any case the count at 1-1. Ortiz looks at some close pitches on the lower half of the zone and then fouls off the six pitch of the at-bat. Rivera goes out to the mound to talk to Jepsen, who can't seem to get on the same page with each other. The shift is on for Papi with Tampa playing him to pull. Ortiz check swings and gets Jepsen to come off the mound and field the ball, but Jepsen has a high throw over to Dykstra who can't handle the throat, and Ortiz winds up on first base with two outs and Panda coming to the plate.

Note- Jepsen came up lame on the play and Cash and the trainer nearly came out of the dugout to check on him, but he waved them off.

Panda- Jepsen shows that he is okay by getting Panda to ground out on the first pitch of the at-bat to the shortstop. Cabrera throws the ball on the run across the diamond for the final out of the inning to stop the possible go-ahead run from scoring.

BTM 8

Change/ Notes- Junichi Tazawa in to pitch for the Red Sox as the prototypical setup man for Koji Uehara. Tazawa had 16 holds last year and a 2.86 ERA. He has appeared in seven games this season and has yet to surrender a run, while striking out nine.

Souza- Note- Trying to get things going for Tampa while going 0/3 in the early part of the game. At Bat- He hits a ground ball to Zander on the second pitch of the at-bat who throws across to Napoli for the first out of the inning.

Notes- Brad Boxberger, the closer for Tampa is up in the bullpen warming up. Boxberger is a guy that came out of Foothill High School in Tustin, Ca.. I faced him in the CIF semi final, Division II round, where more than 50 scouts were there to see him when he came in, in relief, throwing 97 MPH. He had a full ride to USC and was highly touted coming into the draft. Got his start, pitching for the Reds, Padres and is now with Tampa.http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/brad_boxberger_279482.html

Cabrera- Selective in the early part of the at bat, looking at the slider on the inside part of the zone. Tazawa gets Cabrera chasing on the ball up in the zone. High fastballs for Tazawa too much for Cabrera. Only hits for Tampa came in the second inning, they have been hitless since. On cue, Cabrera rips one to right field on an outside changeup to get on base with one out.

Longoria- Note- Is 1/10 against Tazawa and is 1/3 on the night with one of the three hits for the Rays, a double. At Bat- Longoria took one the other way on the third pitch of the at-bat on a line to right field, which Nava hauls in for the second out of the inning and holds Cabrera at first base.

Note- Tazawa last appeared Tuesday night where he threw a perfect eighth-inning, while only throwing six pitches.

Jennings- Has been at times challenged with the bat and swings through a fastball on strike one in the mid-90s. Note- Crucial moment for Jennings with the game-winning run on first base and two outs in the eighth. At Bat- Jennings lifts an inside fastball to left field where you see some incredible range from shortstop Xander Bogaerts who calls off Craig to make the final out of the inning.

TOP 9

Changes/ Notes- Boxberger now in to pitch. He has appeared in seven games this season with a 1-1 record and a 2.84 ERA. He has four saves in four opportunities and has thrown 6.1 innings this season and struck out 11. Opponents batting average is .182. Boxberger’s last appearance was last night, in the sixth inning where he threw a perfect inning striking out three and eventually picking up his first win of the season. He is tied for third in the league with four saves this season.http://espn.go.com/mlb/statistics

Napoli- Boxberger working on the corners the first two pitches the at-bat and gets ahead 0-2 before Napoli fouls off the third pitch. The fourth pitch the at-bat, Napoli goes to right field, but it is only a hard-hit fly-ball out.

Nava- Notes- RBI in second inning was his sixth RBI of the year. Nava in his very first pitch in the big leagues, against the Phillies, hit a grand slam into the right-field bullpen at Fenway Park. At Bat- Boxberger again works ahead and gets Nava to foul pitches off at 0-2. Boxberger has a fastball in the mid-90s and throws a devastating changeup at 77 mph to Nava who does not bite on it. Boxberger then goes back to the changeup on

consecutive pitches and gets Nava to chase one way out of the zone for the second out of the inning.

Craig-Note- Has one of the three Boston hits on the night. At Bat- Again Boxberger works ahead in the count, 1-2. Craig pops it up on the fourth pitch of the at-bat to the right side of the infield and Forsythe hauls in for the final out of the inning.

Note- The Red Sox head into the bottom of the ninth inning with Koji warming up in the bullpen during the inning alongside Anthony Vavaro.

BTM 9

Change/ Notes- Anthony Vavaro in to pitch. Has appeared in six games this season and thrown 7.2 innings striking out five. He has a 1.17 ERA. Former Braves pitcher and 30 years old in the league, with five years experience last pitched in yesterday's game where he went and 1.1 innings giving up a walk and no runs while striking out one.

Dykstra- Note- Walked in the second inning but has not had a hit on the night.At Bat- On the first pitch from Vavaro he drives into right field between the first baseman and second baseman of the Red Sox to get the leadoff man on.

Change- Tim Beckham comes in to pinch run.

Forsythe- Takes ball one from Vavaro. Note- Forsythe is not a dangerous hitter according to the Red Sox, but is batting .280 on the season. At Bat- Forsythe on the third pitch of the at-bat elevates one to right field and it's hauled in for an out, not advancing the runner and not getting the job done.

Kiermaier-Note- 0/3 in the game so far, with two strikeouts.At Bat- Vavaro delivers in a nice strike at the knees to start the at-bat at 91 miles an hour. It's a smart pitch by Vavaro to keep the ball low and try to draw a ground ball to get a double play. Kiermaier gets a great pitch by Vavaro low in the zone and away, and goes down with the pitch and drives it the other way to put Beckham in scoring position. Great hitting and execution by Tampa.

Rivera- On a check swing on the first pitch of the at-bat it looks like the ball skidded away from Hanigan, which would have at least advanced the runners 90 feet, but they say it's a foul ball off Rivera. Count now 0-1. Notes- Beckham drawing some attention from Vavaro, as Vavaro tries to back pick at second base with Xander to try and pick him off. Vavaro then tries to pick him off

again. Vavaro needs to start focusing on the batter and not the runner, he needs outs. At Bat- Great job by Hanigan keeping the ball in front of them in the dirt and not letting the runners advance on the pitch. Note- Having a catcher like that behind the dish makes you so much more confident as a pitcher to throw anything in your arsenal. At Bat- Vavaro then comes back with the front door curveball to make it a 1-2 count. Vavaro hangs a curveball, and Rivera rips one down the left-field line just pass a diving Pablo Sandoval, who made an incredible play in the early part of the game to save a basehit, but this time Rivera brings home the game-winner on an RBI double.

Result- The Rays win 2-1, giving the Red Sox the first series loss of the year.

Synopsis- Great starting pitching by both teams reigned superior in the game. Tampa Bay was only able to compile six hits while the Red Sox only had three. Starting pitching it's key to both these teams, and both teams got great starts from Clay Buchholz and Jake Odorizzi. Timely hitting by Tampa Bay was crucial both in the second inning and in the ninth inning with the walk-off hit by Rivera. The Red Sox need to rebound after suffering their first loss of a series for the entire year, as they head into another tough weekend series against the Orioles, this time at Baltimore, where last weekend it was in Boston against the same team. Moving forward, Tampa Bay can rely on Brad Boxberger as there X factor coming out of the bullpen and with good young starting pitching the team is moving in the right direction for rebuilding.

What it means-

Red Sox- (9-7)Rays- (8-8)http://espn.go.com/mlb/standings

The Red Sox now moved to second place in the American League East, currently the same record as Toronto who holds the tiebreaker, as they head into a tough weekend series at the Baltimore Orioles.http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/schedule/_/name/bos

The win puts the Rays at forth in the American League East, as they head into a tough weekend series against the Blue Jays.http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/_/name/tb