If you were writing the script for yesterday’s Game 3 of the ALCS between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have written exactly what transpired unless you were a Rays fans. A perfect script would have Jon Lester throwing 7-8 scoreless innings while his teammates scored some runs to support him. Justin Masterson and Jonathan Papelbon would’ve come in and closed the door and the Red Sox would be leading the series 2 games to 1 with Tim Wakefield looking to knuckle his way to a 3-1 lead for the Red Sox.
Instead, the Red Sox are now looking at a 2-1 deficit with Wake on the mound tonight as the Rays used the long ball to silence the Fenway faithful early on and take them out of the game. It was so bad at one point, I swear I heard Jason Varitek getting booed. Now that’s not something we ever see at Fenway Park, booing one of our own.
Is the problem right now the pitching? No. Is the problem that Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz are slumping? Maybe. No, the problem is the Red Sox just cannot drive in a runner in scoring position. They left 13 men on base yesterday, 8 of those were in scoring position. They left Dustin Pedroia stranded at second base with 1 out in the 1st inning. They left Mark Kotsay and Jason Bay stranded at second and third with 1 out in the 2nd inning.
The stranded runners in the 2nd inning loomed large in the game in my opinion. Lester had just given up an unearned run in the top half of the inning and it seemed as though the Red Sox had Rays starter Matt Garza on the ropes after the Bay single and Kotsay double. Varitek had the first opportunity to drive them in but struck out looking on what thought was a questionable called strike three. The replay confirmed his suspicion but the ball was actually close enough to the inside corner that he probably should have swung at it instead of standing there and looking like the Statue of Liberty. Garza escaped the jam by getting Alex Cora, who was in for Jed Lowrie, to hit a lazy fly ball to the outfield.
To me if there was a hero of yesterday’s game for the Boston Red Sox, it was Paul Byrd. Yeah he gave up 4 runs in relief of Lester yesterday but he did something invaluable. He saved the Red Sox bullpen for tonight’s pivotal game. Think about it, if Tito Francona has to mix and match his bullpen after he pulled Lester, things could have been rough for the local nine tonight. Instead, Byrd saved the arms in the bullpen and gave Tito the flexibility of doing whatever is needed to get this series tied up for Game 5 on Thursday night.
We all know pitchers are going to have a bad game now and then, you just hope it doesn’t happen in the playoffs. Unfortunately, Lester wasn’t at his best yesterday. By the time he found control of his curveball, it was already too late. And as he said on Sunday, if you fall behind the Rays hitters, they’ll make you pay and that’s exactly what they did.
Links from the assembled media after the jump.
Dustin Pedroia summed it up perfectly by saying it was a good ol’ fashioned ass kicking yesterday by the hands of the Rays.
The Red Sox have been in this situation before and have fared pretty well.
It was a special moment for Rhode Island native Rocco Baldelli when he hit his 3-run home run in the 8th inning.
Jason Varitek is having a rough postseason at the plate and behind it as well.
Matt Garza delivered an unforgettable outing for the Rays in Game 3.
Jacoby Ellsbury talked about his struggles and yesterday’s game over at his postseason blog.
The Rays keep on beating the odds.
Kevin Cash’s value is on the rise for the Red Sox.
The Boston Globe scribes have their video analysis of Game 3 over at Boston.com.
Here are the transcripts of the postgame press conferences of Terry Francona, Joe Maddon, Matt Garza and Rocco Baldelli.
Dan Roche of WBZ wants to know what’s going on with the Red Sox.
Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe will be chatting over at Boston.com at 12 Noon today.
We will close our post out by listening to the thoughts of Jon Lester after his performance yesterday.
For more playoff slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant and Providence Journal websites.
And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying you can check out the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times websites.
