The Boston Red Sox head into Tropicana Field for a 4-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays as winners of 12 of their last 13 games having won their last four series. Tonight the will look to exercise their demons at the Trop where they went just 1-8 during the regular season. It’s also the scene of the crime that saw the Rays clinch a berth in the World Series last season.
The game will start at 7:08 PM and will be shown on NESN and Sun Sports in the Tampa area. For those who are out of market, the game will also be shown on the MLB Network. You can also catch the game on the radio on one of the many affiliates of the Red Sox Radio Network.
Josh Beckett looks to rebound from a poor start against the New York Yankees his last time out. Beckett is 2-1 with a 6.00 ERA on the season. In 11 starts against the Rays, Beckett is 6-3 with a 2.93 ERA and is 1-2 with a 1.93 ERA in 4 career starts at Tropicana Field.
Matt Garza will look to continue his dominance over the Red Sox tonight. In 7 career starts, Garza is 4-1 with a 3.40 ERA.
How Van Every ended up with the Red Sox [Full Count]
Numbers tell a troubling story for Rays [Tony Massarotti Blog]
It’s … kind of a big deal [Rays Report]
Globe 10.0: Are the Rays one-year wonders? [Boston Globe]
Sox boast Beckett in St. Petersburg [RedSox.com]
Winning Ways [Ask 14]
pregame notes [Extra Bases]
Here are tonight’s starting lineups:
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| 1. Jacoby Ellsbury | CF | 1. B.J. Upton | CF |
| 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B | 2. Carl Crawford | LF |
| 3. David Ortiz | DH | 3. Evan Longoria | 3B |
| 4. Kevin Youkilis | 1B | 4. Carlos Peña | 1B |
| 5. J.D. Drew | RF | 5. Pat Burrell | DH |
| 6. Jason Bay | LF | 6. Gabe Gross | RF |
| 7. Mike Lowell | 3B | 7. Akinori Iwamura | 2B |
| 8. George Kottaras | C | 8. Jason Bartlett | SS |
| 9. Julio Lugo | SS | 9. Michel Hernandez | C |
| Josh Beckett | SP | Matt Garza | SP |
14-7
8-14And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:
