SB Nation Boston - Rays Vs. Red Sox: Wednesday's Game Postponed Due To Rainhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48863/boston-fave.png2011-04-13T15:21:00-04:00http://boston.sbnation.com/rss/stream/18685022011-04-13T15:21:00-04:002011-04-13T15:21:00-04:00Rays Vs. Red Sox: Final Game Of Series Rained Out
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Rays</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.overthemonster.com/">Red Sox</a> will not be finishing up their series Wednesday. With the rain coming down hard in Fenway, the game has been postponed, to be made up at a later date.</p>
<p>The Rays will make their way to Fenway two more times during the year, first for a two-game set in August, and then a four-gamer in September. With both teams having the day before the August series off, that might be the most practical time to fit the game in, even with the Red Sox coming back from the West Coast the day before.</p>
<p>The Red Sox will have another off-day on Thursday, leaving them inactive for two days before starting their series against Toronto on Friday. Given <span>John Lackey</span>’s struggles, it may make sense to avoid throwing him on seven days of rest, instead moving along to <span>Clay Buchholz</span>.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-red-sox/2011/4/13/2109107/rays-red-sox-rain-out-postponed-weatherBenjamin Buchanan2011-04-12T22:57:55-04:002011-04-12T22:57:55-04:00Rays 3, Red Sox 2: Jon Lester Strong, But Red Sox Can't Find Holes In Rays Defense
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<p>The Red Sox have fallen to 2-9 on the season thanks to a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays Tuesday. With Houston defeating the Cubs, that leaves Boston with sole possession of the worst record in the league.</p>
<p>For once, at least, the game was not a disaster-or not one caused by the Red Sox. Jon Lester spent most of the game being his usual, dominant self. He picked up his fifth, sixth, and seventh strikeouts in the fourth inning as he sat the side down in order. He allowed only two walks all game, and that was thanks to some very questionable calls from behind the plate.</p>
<p>It was in the fifth inning, though, that Lester ran into some trouble. With one out, Lester gave up three straight singles. They weren't poorly hit, but they definitely found holes better than the balls the Red Sox put into play. With still just one out and the bases loaded, Sam Fuld tapped the weakest of grounders up the first base line. Adrian Gonzalez ran to field it, and with nowhere else to throw it, fired home to no avail. The run scored on a hit that didn't even get close to first base.</p>
<p>Johnny Damon's seeing-eye single scored two more, giving the Rays a 3-1 lead.</p>
<p>The one run came on Darnell McDonald's first homer of the year, that gave the Red Sox their short-lived and only lead of the game. And that was about the only way the Red Sox were going to score. It wasn't that they were taking bad swings, but that every ball in play found a glove. Or, in the case of an Adrian Gonzalez shot up the middle, the backside of David Price. What would have been the extra run the Sox needed-and there's little doubt he would have scored given the rest of the inning-instead was deflected towards second base for the out</p>
<p>In some cases it was good defense. You can't slight the Rays in that department. Their outfield was all over the place, and they made some strong plays up the middle. But more often than not, the Red Sox didn't even give them a chance to show range. It just went right to them.</p>
<p>What is a disaster is this: The Red Sox have the worst record in the game, and are relying on John Lackey to save them from their third sweep of the season.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-red-sox/2011/4/12/2107693/rays-3-red-sox-2-jon-lester-strong-but-red-sox-cant-find-holes-inBenjamin Buchanan2011-04-12T17:18:22-04:002011-04-12T17:18:22-04:00Rays vs. Red Sox Lineups: Rays Mix Things Up Against Jon Lester
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Rays</a>’ lineup for Tuesday’s game looks rather different from the one that scored 16 runs against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.overthemonster.com/">Red Sox</a> on Monday.</p>
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<p><span>Sam Fuld</span>, LF<br>
<span>Johnny Damon</span>, DH<br>
BJ Upton, CF<br>
<span>Felipe Lopez</span>, 2B<br>
<span>Sean Rodriguez</span>, 3B<br>
<span>Ben Zobrist</span>, RF<br>
<span>Kelly Shoppach</span>, C<br>
<span>Dan Johnson</span>, 1B<br>
<span>Elliot Johnson</span>, SS</p>
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<p>It’s a curious middle of the order. BJ Upton does hit southpaws fairly well, but—excepting a trio of homers—<span>Jon Lester</span> has dominated him to the tune of a .650 <span class="caps">OPS</span>. Meanwhile, Felipe Lopez hasn’t faced Lester and is, well, Felipe Lopez.</p>
<p>It’s not the toughest lineup Jon Lester has had to face in his life, but it is April. Hopefully, Lester will take advantage of the situation to establish some momentum after his strong start in Cleveland, rather than let his usual early-season problems interfere.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-red-sox/2011/4/12/2107072/rays-vs-red-sox-lineup-april-12Benjamin Buchanan2011-04-12T15:39:31-04:002011-04-12T15:39:31-04:00Rays Vs. Red Sox Lineups: Boston Goes Right-Handed Against David Price
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<p>After the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Rays</a> went lefty-heavy Monday in their destruction of <span>Daisuke Matsuzaka</span>, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.overthemonster.com/">Red Sox</a> are responding by throwing every righty they have at Tampa Bay southpaw <span>David Price</span> Tuesday.</p>
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<p>1. <span>Carl Crawford</span>, LF<br> 2. <span>Dustin Pedroia</span>, 2B<br> 3. <span>Adrian Gonzalez</span>, 1B<br> 4. <span>Kevin Youkilis</span>, DH<br> 5. <span>Jed Lowrie</span>, 3B<br> 6. <span>Mike Cameron</span>, CF<br> 7. <span>Jason Varitek</span>, C<br> 8. <span>Darnell McDonald</span>, RF<br> 9. <span>Marco Scutaro</span>, SS</p>
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<p>Leave it to Terry Francona to stack the lineup against a left-hander and still almost pull of the left-right-left-right pattern. This is possible, of course, thanks to the switch hitting Jed Lowrie and Jason Varitek, both of whom are particularly adept at hitting from the right side of the plate.</p>
<p><span>David Ortiz</span> and <span>J.D. Drew</span> will both get the night off against Price despite each having been hot at the plate of late. It’s nice to see Ortiz get a day off in April without the cloud of a slump hanging over his head for once. <span>Jacoby Ellsbury</span>—1-for-7 against price in his career—and <span>Jarrod Saltalamacchia</span> will also sit.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, in the few times they’ve seen him, Mike Cameron, Darnell McDonald, and Kevin Youkilis have been particularly effective against Price. And while no group truly can be said to hit Price well, righties do have an <span class="caps">OPS</span> 100 points higher against him.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-red-sox/2011/4/12/2106822/rays-vs-red-sox-lineups-april-12Benjamin Buchanan2011-04-12T10:55:50-04:002011-04-12T10:55:50-04:00Monday Night's Rays-Red Sox Game Was Never In Doubt
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<p>Our friends over at FanGraphs updated their <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/boxscore.aspx?date=2011-04-11&team=Red%20Sox&dh=0&season=2011" target="_blank">box scores</a>. They are very pretty. And make it even easier to see when the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.overthemonster.com/">Red Sox</a> lost a game! </p>↵<p><a href="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/586153/20110411_Rays_RedSox_0_box.png" target="_blank"><img alt="20110411_rays_redsox_0_box_medium" class="photo" src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/586153/20110411_Rays_RedSox_0_box_medium.png" height="186" width="290"></a> <br id="1302620312108"></p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-red-sox/2011/4/12/2106147/monday-nights-rays-red-sox-game-was-never-in-doubtRyan Hudson2011-04-12T00:03:22-04:002011-04-12T00:03:22-04:00Rays 16, Red Sox 5: Daisuke Matsuzaka's Terrible Start Sinks Red Sox
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<p>One night after Josh Beckett excited the Red Sox and their fanbase with a tremendous start against the Yankees, Daisuke Matsuzaka let the air out, single-handedly revitalizing a Tampa Bay offense that had spent the first nine games of the season at the bottom of the league.</p>
<p>How did Daisuke work his miracles? A steady diet of straight fastballs and hanging off-speed offerings, all of them right down the middle of the plate.</p>
<p>In the first inning this led to not only some uncharacteristically quick outs, but also a very quick home run off the bat of Johnny Damon, perhaps dividing the boos he had heard walking to the plate between himself and the man on the mound. </p>
<p>At least, though, that had provided outs. In the second inning, Matsuzaka decided to leave that part behind. Ben Zobrist's leadoff double started a chain of seven straight batters who would reach without recording an out, the sixth of whom--Sam Fuld--launched a two-run homer, capping off a six run inning to give the Rays a 7-0 lead.</p>
<p>With Tim Wakefield in the game, the scoring slowed down, but didn't stop. After adding another run in both the fourth and fifth innings, the Rays chased Wakefield from the game with a three-run sixth. Finally, the Rays were quieted temporarily, as Aceves picked up eight straight outs, striking out two men in the process.</p>
<p>Offensively, the Sox almost had enough individual firepower to get back in the game, picking up ten hits and seven walks. Carl Crawford had two hits, Jacoby Ellsbury hit his second homer of the season, and the most unlikely combination of triples in the history of the game came off the bats of David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez. But once again it was a lack of timely hits that kept them to just five runs, stranding 11 men on 2-for-12 hitting with runners in scoring position. A four run explosion off ninth inning pitcher Dan Wheeler served only to add insult to injury.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-red-sox/2011/4/12/2105531/rays-16-red-sox-5-daisuke-matsuzakas-terrible-start-sinks-red-soxBenjamin Buchanan2011-04-11T16:32:31-04:002011-04-11T16:32:31-04:00Rays Vs. Red Sox Lineups: Boston Sticks With Familiar Lineup Against Rays
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<p>The Red Sox' lineup has been shuffled around a number of times since the start of the season, but now it seems like--aside from days off and matchup considerations--Terry Francona has found one he is comfortable with. At least for now:</p>
<p></p>
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<blockquote>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Carl Crawford, LF</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Dustin Pedroia, 2B</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Adrian Gonzalez, 1B</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Kevin Youkilis, 3B</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">David Ortiz, DH</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">J.D. Drew, RF</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Jacoby Ellsbury, CF</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Marco Scutaro, SS</span></li>
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<div>While the shift to leadoff hasn't helped Carl Crawford improve his production any, he has looked better in recent games, getting plenty of hard contact and only coming up short thanks to some strong defense from the Yankees. Meanwhile, Dustin Pedroia has certainly found his stride, and the middle of the order is starting to work out better. With the Sox' 17 runs against the Yankees being more than they scored in their first two series combined, Terry Francona has no reason to make any changes just yet.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>The Rays, too, seemed to have settled into a routine without Evan Longoria and Manny Ramirez. But tonight's lineup against Daisuke Matsuzaka looks a bit different:</div>
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<ol>
<blockquote>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Sam Fuld, LF</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Jhonny Damon, DH</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Matt Joyce, RF</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Dan Johnson, 1B</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Ben Zobrist, 2B</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">B.J. Upton, CF</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Felipe Lopez, 3B</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">John Jaso, C</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 12px;">Reid Brignac, SS</span></li>
</blockquote>
</ol>
<div>It's not hard to understand why Matt Joyce is batting third tonight--he's destroyed Daisuke Matsuzaka traditionally. What is curious is that Dan Johnson, who has terrible numbers against Daisuke, is batting fourth, especially with Casey Kotchman and his strong numbers against Matsuzaka being readily available. Kelly Shoppach also hits Daisuke noticeably better than John Jaso.</div>
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https://boston.sbnation.com/boston-red-sox/2011/4/11/2104669/rays-red-sox-lineups-april-11Benjamin Buchanan2011-04-11T15:27:32-04:002011-04-11T15:27:32-04:00Rays Vs. Red Sox: Boston Welcomes Tampa To Town For Three Games
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.overthemonster.com/">Boston Red Sox</a> have two wins. And it only took them 10 days and nine games. </p>
<p>After starting the season 0-6 -- their worst opening record since 1945 -- the Red Sox managed to right ship and take two out of three from the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">New York Yankees</a> over the weekend, winning 9-6 on Friday, and then 4-0 Sunday night, thanks to <span>Josh Beckett</span>. In need of a win, Beckett stepped up and delivered one of the best outings of his career, striking out 10 over eight shutout innings while allowing just two hits. </p>
<p>But with <span>John Lackey</span> and <span>Clay Buchholz</span> getting hit hard in the first two games, the key in the series was the Sox' offense. While Boston hitters continue to struggle in situation with runners in scoring position, they did manage to score 17 runs in three days. To compare, the Red Sox scored just 16 runs in the first six games of the season. </p>
<p>Now the Sox will look to continue the winning when they welcome the worst team in baseball, the 1-8 <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.draysbay.com/">Tampa Bay Rays</a>, to Fenway Park. As bad as Boston's offense has been, Tampa's has been worse, ranking dead last in average (.163), runs (20), hits (47), on-base percentage (.232) and slugging (.284). </p>
<h3>Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox</h3>
<p><b>Monday, April 11, 7:10 p.m. <br></b>ESPN, NESN<br><span>Jeremy Hellickson</span> (0-1, 4.76) vs. <span>Daisuke Matsuzaka</span> (0-1, 5.40)</p>
<p><b>Tuesday, April 12, 7:10 p.m. <br></b>NESN<br><span>David Price</span> (0-2, 4.85) vs. <span>Jon Lester</span> (0-0, 3.65)</p>
<p><b>Wednesday, April 13, 7:10 p.m. <br></b>NESN<br><span>James Shields</span> (0-1, 4.73) vs. John Lackey (1-1, 15.58)</p>
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<p><b>Looking Ahead ... </b>Boston has a day off on Thursday before hosting the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/">Toronto Blue Jays</a> for four games over the weekend, including Monday's Patriots Day game at 11:05 a.m.</p>
https://boston.sbnation.com/2011/4/11/2333241/rays-vs-red-sox-boston-welcomes-tampa-to-town-for-three-gamesRyan Hudson