Boston @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 30, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 9, Boston 4
Maybe the Tampa Bay Rays should not be so eager to return to Florida.
The Rays open a seven-game homestand that will carry them to the All-Star break when the Boston Red Sox arrive for a three-game set beginning Monday night at Tropicana Field.
On paper, it looks like a perfect scenario for Tampa Bay to make hay and possibly reclaim first place in the tightly contested AL East.
The Rays trail the front-running New York Yankees by two games and are just a half-game behind Boston in the division.
There's just one problem. Home has not been where the heart is for Tampa Bay this season.
Despite being tied for fourth in the major leagues with 48 wins overall, the Rays are a head-scratching 20-19 at Tropicana Field. That includes being swept in a three-game series by the Red Sox from May 24-26.
Yet, send Tampa Bay out on the road and the teams hosting the Rays find wins as evasive as Brett Favre answering the retirement question.
Case in point: The Rays took three out of four this past weekend in Minnesota to knock the Twins out of first place in the AL Central.
It boosted Tampa Bay's road mark for the season to a major league-best 28-14. That's a stunning .667 pace and represents six more wins away from home than any other team in baseball.
The tone for such success was set in the first two weeks of the season when the Rays bludgeoned the Red Sox in a four-game series to complete a perfect seven-game road trip.
In Sunday’s series finale against the Minnesota Twins, Evan Longoria singled, doubled and tripled and drove in three runs to celebrate his selection to the All-Star Game earlier in the day.
Second baseman Sean Rodriguez also contributed three hits, including a home run, as he extended his hitting streak to six games. During that span, Rodriguez is batting .500 (12-for-24) with five multi-hit games.
The Red Sox were unable to complete a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, falling 6-1 at their injury-ravaged lineup produced just three hits.
That doesn’t bode well for Boston entering Monday's game against Rays starter Matt Garza, who is 7-3 lifetime against the Red Sox.
Garza (9-5) has already beaten them twice this season, including last week’s 9-4 win in which he allowed three runs on six hits in seven innings in a two-game series in Boston. But the Red Sox did rock Garza for six runs and five hits in five innings in an 11-3 romp here on May 26.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (5-3) opposed Garza last Wednesday and was the losing pitcher, giving up three runs on four hits in six innings. It dropped the Japanese right-hander to 2-5 in 10 career starts vs. the Rays.