Dice K got tagged by an old friend in the top of the first inning although Sam Fuld flied out to right to start. Old buddy Johnny Damon set the tone with a home run into the bullpen to put the Rays up two batters into the game. Matt Joyce took strike three and Dan Johnson grounded out to first to end the inning with the Rays ahead 1-0.
Jeremy Hellickson got the start for Tampa in the bottom of the first and Carl Crawford flied out to left to start. Dustin Pedroia grounded out to second but Adrian Gonzalez and Kevin Youkilis drew back to back walks. David Ortiz grounded out to first to end the inning, more woes with RISP.
The Sox whacked Dice K in the top of the second as Ben Zobrist smacked a double down the third base line to start. BJ Upton walked and Felipe Lopez singled to center to load the bases. John Jaso doubled off the Monster to score Zobrist and Upton then Reid Brignac cleared the bases with a base hit to right. Fuld then put the exclamation point with a 300 foot home run just around the Pesky Pole to ice the game just like that. Damon singled to center and Sox analyst Jerry Remy pointed out every ball hit was a straight fastball right down the middle. Damon moved to second on the Joyce grounder to second and to third on the liner off Dice K that he recovered to get Johnson at first. Zobrist was rung up for strike three to end the inning but it was 7-0 Rays.
The Sox failed to respond in the bottom of the second as JD Drew grounded into the shift to start. Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out swinging and Jacoby Ellsbury grounded out to short to end the inning.
The Rays chased Dice K in the top of the third as Upton dropped a base hit to right and Lopez walked. Sox manager Terry Francona had seen enough and the boos rained down on Dice K as he left. He lasted just 2 innings and allowed 7 runs, brutal. Tim Wakefield came in and picked off Upton before getting Jaso to bang into a double play to end the inning.
The Sox struck back in the bottom of the third although Scutaro grounded out to third to start. Crawford grounded out to first but Pedroia walked. Gonzalez hit a liner to right that Joyce dove and missed completely. Pedroia scored and Gonzalez took third on the triple. Youkilis grounded out to second to end the inning but it was 7-1 Rays.
The Rays struck again in the top of the fourth inning although Brignac grounded out to second to start. Fuld doubled to center and Damon grounded a single up the middle to score Sam with another run. Ellsbury dove to make a great catch to rob Joyce of a hit and made another good running grab on a Johnson liner to end the inning with the Rays ahead 8-1.
The Sox struck back in the bottom of the fourth as Ortiz of all people tripled to center to start. Drew singled to center to score Ortiz to cut the lead. Saltlamacchia popped up to Fuld, Ellsbury lined out to center and Scutaro grounded out to second to end the inning but the Sox were down 8-2.
The Rays struck again in the top of the fifth as Zobrist grounded out to second to start. Upton hit a routine grounder to Scutaro who tried to kick the ball over to first for an error. Lopez flied out to right but Jaso doubled to left to score Upton with another run. LeBlanc lined out to first to end the inning with the Rays ahead 9-2.
The Sox looked to rally in the bottom of the fifth when Crawford hit a ground rule double into the bullpen to start but Fuld made an amazing diving catch to rob Pedroia of a double. Crawford moved to third on the Gonzalez grounder to short and Youkilis walked to put runners at the corners. Ortiz grounded into the shift to end the inning.
The Rays poured it on in the top of the sixth as Fuld tripled off the glove of Ellsbury to start. Damon walked and a passed ball scored Fuld, advancing Damon to second. Joyce singled to center to advance Damon to third but Johnson popped up to third. Zobrist doubled down the right field line to score both runners and chase Wakefield. Alfredo Aceves came in and got Upton to pop up to second and Lopez to ground out to short to end the inning but it was 12-2 Rays.
Old buddy Casey Kotchman replaced Lopez and Sean Rodriguez took over for Johnson to begin the bottom of the sixth. Drew grounded out into the shift to start but Saltalamacchia drew a walk. Ellsbury dropped a soft liner into center for a base hit to chase Hellickson. Adam Russell came in and got Scutaro to bang into a double play to end the inning.
Jed Lowrie came in for Gonzalez and Darnell McDonald replaced Drew to begin the top of the seventh. Jaso grounded out to second to start before Brignac flied out to left. Fuld was a single shy of the cycle but he flied out to the left field warning track to end the inning. The Sox struck back in the bottom of the seventh as Crawford ate up Brignac with a ground ball for an error to start. Pedroia and Lowrie drew back to back walks to load the bases but Youk hit a bullet to Zobrist who doubled Pedroia off at second for the double play. Cesar Ramos took over for Russell and Ortiz greeted him with a base hit to center to score Crawford and advance Lowrie to third. McDonald took strike three to end the inning with the Sox down 12-3.
Aceves cruised in the top of the eighth by striking out Damon swinging to start. Joyce popped up to left and Rodriguez struck out swinging to end the inning. The Sox tacked on a run against Joel Peralta in the bottom of the eighth although Saltamacchia struck out swinging to start. Ellsbury then hit his second home run of the season just over the bullpen in right to cut the lead. Scutaro popped up to shallow left but Fuld dove and missed a bloop single by Crawford. Pedroia grounded out to third to end the inning but it was 12-4 Tampa.
Dan Wheeler came in to take a pounding in the top of the ninth as Zobrist lashed a base hit up the middle to start. Upton hit a grounder that Scutaro dove to snare but threw away for an error to put runners at the corners with nobody out. Kotchman hit a grounder by the diving Lowrie for a base hit to score Zobrist with another run. Jaso flied out to center but Brignac lined a base hit into center to score Upton. Fuld needed a single for the cycle and did manage to line a hit into the left field corner, but he kept on going to second for another double to score Kotchman. Damon grounded out to short on a bang bang play but Brignac scored to increase the lead. Joyce grounded out to second to end the inning but it was 16-4 Rays.
Kyle Farnsworth had mop up duty in the bottom of the ninth and Lowrie hit a roller up the middle for a base hit to start. Youkilis dropped a double to center to send Lowrie to third and Ortiz scored Jed with a sac fly to left. McDonald took strike three and Saltalamacchia grounded out to second to end the game. The Rays embarrassed the Sox with a humiliating 16-5 victory.
Jackass of the Night is Daisuke Matsuzaka. He lasted just 2 plus innings and put the Sox in a 7-0 hole they couldn't climb out of. He allowed 7 runs on 2 walks and 8 hits.
The Good:
Carl Crawford was 2 for 5 with a run scored.
Adrian Gonzalez was 1 for 2 with a walk and an rbi.
Jed Lowrie was 1 for 1 with a walk and a run scored.
Kevin Youkilis was 1 for 3 with 2 walks.
David Ortiz was 2 for 4 with 2 rbis and a run scored.
JD Drew was 1 for 3 with an rbi.
Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 4 with a solo home run.
Alfredo Aceves tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings.
The Bad:
Darnell McDonald struck out twice in two plate appearances.
Marco Scutaro was 0 for 4 with 2 errors.
Tim Wakefield allowed 5 runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Dan Wheeler allowed 4 runs in the top of the ninth.
The Ugly:
Dustin Pedroia was 0 for 3 but walked twice and scored a run.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts but walked.
Final Thoughts:
Of all the losses this season, this has to be the most embarrassing. Its one thing to lose to the American League champion Texas Rangers or to the New York Yankees, its another thing to get smashed by the 1-8 Tampa Bay Rays. It wasn't just that the Rays won, its how they did it. They couldn't miss even if you put blindfolds on them. Essentially Sam Fuld hit for the cycle if he stopped at first in the ninth and Damon turned back the clock 6 years. This season is coming apart at the seams before it even begins really. Who thought the "best team evah" would start 2-8? The starting pitching has been a complete nightmare the first 10 games of the season apart from Beckett last night. Matsuzaka again sucked a big one but the rotation is too good to keep up this stretch of ineptitude. How long will it go on before it bites them in the ass come September though? Tomorrow night the Sox look to rebound against the Rays and it will be a battle of aces. Jon Lester goes for the Sox up against David Price of Tampa. The game begins at 7:10 PM at Fenway Park.
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