Rays Take Game, Critical Series (8/29/10)

The night began with the news of relief pitcher Hideki Okajima coming off the disabled list and Michael Bowden being sent back to Pawtucket. In the end Okajima continued his ineffectiveness which allowed Tampa to win the series and push Boston almost out of playoff contention.

Boston starter John Lackey (12-8, 4.60 ERA) continues to struggle in later innings against the good teams and his latest start puts him on the brink of "bust" status. His counterpart James Shields (13-11, 4.73 ERA) pitched effectively earning himself the win.

For the first 3 innings it was a scoreless pitchers duel as both Lackey and Shields navigated through the lineups without much resistance. In the bottom of the 4th inning it was Tampa who struck first. Despite a sub .220 batting average, Carlos Pena is known for the longball. With 2 out, Pena drove a 91 mile and hour fastball into the seats for hsi 25th home run of the year.

Facing a deficit the Red Sox responded quickly. Mike Lowell led off with a double and a Daniel Nava ground out moved him to third. Darnell McDonald worked a walk and rookie second basemen Yamaico Navarro singled home Lowell. Marco Scutaro then hit a shot off 3rd basemen Evan Longoria which scored McDonald from second base to give the Sox a 2-1 lead.

In the bottom of the 5th Lackey continued to impress, striking out 2 and retiring the side in order. In the top of the 6th, the Sox struck again. David Ortiz whiffed leading off the inning but Adrian Beltre doubled. Shields struck out Lowell but Daniel Nava singled home Beltre to increase the lead 3-1. John Lackey had pitched 5 impressive innings but then the wheels fell off.

In the bottom of the 6th, Lackey got Jason Jaso to ground out but Ben Zobrist singled off of Navarro. Carl Crawford stepped in and launched his 15th homer of the year to tie the game. Evan Longoria then hit a rocket out to right centerfield that bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. Carlos Pena was intentionally walked but the reeling Lackey walked Matt Joyce to load the bases. Last night's hero Dan Johnson was the hero again by singling home Longoria but Darnell McDonald's throw was able to nail Pena at home. Lackey punched out BJ Upton to end the inning but now the Rays had a 4-3 lead.

Shields came out for the top of the 7th and got Navarro and Scutaro before being lifted for Randy Choate against JD Drew. Choate punched out Drew and it was on to the bottom of the 7th. Jason Bartlett led off with a single but was thrown out trying to steal by Victor Martinez. Even with a second chance, Lackey allowed a single to Jaso and walked Zobrist to end his night. Hideki Okajima came on and at first looked to be in control by striking out Crawford. Then the dangerous Evan Longoria struck with a single to make the game 5-3. Okajima walked the .212 hitting Pena and got Matt Joyce to fly out to end the inning.

Now the Rays bullpen who had been dominant all year, continued the trend. Juaquin Benoit lowered his ERA to 1.49 in retiring the Sox in order in the top of the 8th. Last night's goat Scott Atchinson took the mound in the bottom of the inning and shockingly pitched a scoreless inning.

Now the Sox had one final chance against unstoppable Rays closer Rafael Soriano. Lowell popped up and Nava flied out but pinch hitter Ryan Kalish (McDonald) worked a walk. With the tying run at the plate, Soriano punched out pinch hitter Jed Lowrie to end the game and pretty much the post-season hope for Boston.

It seems that time finally caught up with the Sox. Their bullpen had been ineffective all year, they lost 4 starters to injury and the replacements (Hall, Kalish, Nava, McDonald) appeared to have cooled off. The Sox are now 6.5 games behind both the Rays and Yankees. Josh Beckett takes the mound Tuesday to try and beat the surging O's who've played great ball for new manager Buck Showalter.