Boston @ Tampa Bay preview
Tropicana Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 5, 2010 ) Boston 5, Tampa Bay 6
After a horrid stretch in June, the Tampa Bay Rays are starting to regain their stride.
That could spell bad news for the rest of the American League, as the Boston Red Sox found out in the opener of a three-game series Monday night.
Despite spotting the Red Sox a four-run lead and seeing starter Matt Garza KO’d after just three innings, the resilient Rays steadily chipped away at the deficit before prevailing, 6-5.
With the win, Tampa Bay leapfrogged Boston and moved back into second place in the AL East, one-half game ahead of the Red Sox and two games behind the front-running New York Yankees.
It was the fifth win in six games for the Rays, who seem to have found their equilibrium following a 5-12 June swoon that wiped away much of the luster from a scintillating 32-12 start to the season.
Monday’s gritty victory more resembled the Tampa Bay club that flummoxed the Red Sox during a four-game sweep at Fenway Park in mid-April than the team that was shredded by the Red Sox in a three-game sweep here in late May.
Rays right-hander Jeff Niemann (6-2) goes to the mound on Tuesday looking for his first win since June 8. Niemann got off to a 6-0 start this season, including a victory over Boston, when he allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings.
The 27-year-old has run into some hard luck of late, including being on the wrong end of Edwin Jackson’s no-hitter against the Rays on June 25. Niemann went 7 1/3 innings and was the hard-luck loser in a 1-0 defeat.
Tampa Bay has received an offensive spark from second baseman Sean Rodriguez, who extended his hitting streak to seven games with two hits Monday night. He has six multi-hit games during the streak.
Opposing Niemann will be rookie Felix Doubront, who was called up from Triple-A to make his second career start in place of the injured Clay Buchholz.
The left-hander won his major league debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 18, albeit in shaky fashion. Doubront allowed five runs - three earned - on six hits in five-plus innings in a 10-6 victory on June 18.
Doubront started the year at Double-A, going 4-0 with a 2.51 ERA in his first eight starts to earn a promotion to Triple-A Pawtucket. He is 3-2 with a 2.36 in six starts at Triple-A.
Tuesday's game promises to be entirely different for Doubront - if for no reason than a familiarity standpoint.
Not only will it be his first start on road, but six players who were with Boston for Doubront's last outing have since landed on the 15-day disabled list, including catchers Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek.
Buchholz, who was named to the American League All-Star squad on Sunday after going 10-4 with a 2.45 ERA, was scheduled to make Tuesday’s start. But with his ailing hamstring still not fully healed, the Red Sox placed Buchholz on the DL on Monday night.