Tampa Bay @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( Mar 30, 2010 ) Boston 9, Tampa Bay 9
Being one game under .500 in mid-April is no reason to panic, but the Boston Red Sox aren’t off to the best of starts.
The Red Sox open a four-game series tonight at Fenway Park with Tampa Bay, which has started the season with a 6-3 mark.
The bitter American League East rivals have had quite a history in recent years. Their games have featured hit batsmen, bench-clearing brawls and a memorable seven-game AL Championship Series in 2008 that was won by the Rays.
It's likely we'll see more of the same this season as both teams are expected to battle for playoff contention.
Slow individual starts and injuries have hampered the Red Sox. Designated hitter David Ortiz didn't play in Thursday's 8-0 loss to Minnesota. Considering how badly he's struggling at the plate, a day off was a good idea. Ortiz is batting .154 and has struck out 13 times in 26 at-bats.
Ortiz also is struggling off the field. Rapper Jay-Z filed a lawsuit against the Boston slugger over naming infringement rights involving Ortiz’s nightclub in the Dominican Republic.
Left fielder and leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury missed the entire three-game series in Minnesota with bruised ribs. Center fielder Mike Cameron didn't play Thursday because of a lower abdominal strain. The injury forced Bill Hall to start in center field and he made an error in the loss.
Josh Beckett will start tonight for Boston. The Red Sox ace looked better in his last start against Kansas City, holding the Royals to three runs in seven innings. Beckett lasted only 4 2-3 innings, allowing five earned runs and eight hits, against the New York Yankees on Opening Night.
The Rays, who were off Thursday, are coming off a three-game sweep of the Orioles in Baltimore. After taking the opener, Tampa Bay pulled out an 8-6 win in 10 innings on Tuesday. Trailing 3-0, the Rays scored five in the eighth. Baltimore tied the game in the bottom of the inning, but Carlos Pena's three-run homer won it.
The Rays used that momentum to roll to a 9-1 win Wednesday. Pena duplicated the previous night's effort with a three-run homer in the first inning while B.J.Upton homered twice and drove in four runs.
Rookie right-hander Wade Davis will start for Tampa Bay. The highly touted prospect, who is making his eighth start in the big leagues, gave up four earned runs in six innings against the Yankees in his first start.