St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - Jason Bartlett's sacrifice fly in the seventh inning proved to be the difference, as the Tampa Bay Rays edged the Boston Red Sox, 6-5, in the opener of a three-game series at Tropicana Field.
John Jaso had a two-run single, and Carl Crawford added three hits, drove in one and score a run for Tampa Bay, which has won three straight and five of its last six overall.
Randy Choate (2-2) earned the win for retiring the final batter in the top of the seventh. Rays starter Matt Garza lasted only three innings after giving up four runs on seven hits with a pair of walks.
Eric Patterson went 3-for-5 with two homers, while Kevin Youkilis chipped in with an RBI triple for the Red Sox, who have dropped three of five.
Ramon Ramirez (0-2) took the loss for giving up the go-ahead run. Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka was tagged for eight hits and five runs -- four earned -- with four walks and struck out four in five-plus innings.