Rays Beat Red Sox 9-1 to Take 2-1 Lead in AL Series

B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria hit third-inning home runs as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 9-1 in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.

Matt Garza took a shutout into the seventh inning at Fenway Park in Boston, while Upton hit a three-run homer and Longoria had a solo shot during the Rays' four-run third inning.

"I just kept attacking their hitters,'' Garza said in a televised interview. "And my guys got to (Red Sox pitcher Jon) Lester early and stayed on him. I was able to keep that dangerous lineup down today.''

Baldelli added a three-run home run in the eighth inning and Carlos Pena had a solo blast in the ninth for Tampa Bay, which has won two straight to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of- seven Major League Baseball playoff series. The defending World Series-champion Red Sox host Game 4 tomorrow.

The AL pennant winner advances to the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies or Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies hold a 2-1 lead in the National League Championship Series, which continues with Game 4 tonight in Los Angeles.

After splitting the first two games of the AL series in Tampa, Florida, the Rays struck first in Boston. Longoria walked to lead off the second inning, advanced to third base on a single and passed ball, and then scored on a groundout.

Third Inning

The AL East-champion Rays opened the third inning with three straight hits off Lester. Jason Bartlett led off with a single, Akinori Iwamura doubled and Upton followed with his major league-leading fifth homer of the playoffs.

They were the first earned runs allowed by Lester since Game 2 of the 2007 ALCS against Cleveland, snapping a streak of 24 2/3 innings. Lester hadn't allowed an earned run in winning his previous two starts this postseason.

Longoria homered to centerfield two batters later to give the Rays a 5-0 lead. It was his fourth homer of the postseason, matching the rookie record set by Miguel Cabrera in 2003.

Lester allowed five runs -- four earned -- and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings to take the loss. The 24-year-old left-hander had been 11-1 in 17 home starts during the regular season and entered the game with a 4-0 record all-time against the Rays.

Lester is the first Red Sox starter to lose in the team's past 14 playoff games. Josh Beckett was tagged for eight runs in 4 1/3 innings in Boston's Game 2 loss, though he didn't factor in the decision as the Rays won 9-8 in 11 innings.

It's the first time in franchise history that Boston has allowed eight or more runs in consecutive playoff games.

Garza scattered six hits and left after issuing a walk to Jason Varitek and a single to Alex Cora to start the seventh inning. J.P. Howell came on in relief and gave up a sacrifice fly to Jacoby Ellsbury before getting Dustin Pedroia to hit into an inning-ending double play.

Baldelli and Pena added homers in the final two innings off Red Sox reliever Paul Byrd. Both homers cleared the ``Green Monster'' left field wall at Fenway Park.

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Jon Lester struggles as Red Sox fall behind Tampa Bay in ALCS

Jon Lester sped through his perfect first inning with just four pitches. Then he gave up four runs in the third.

The ace-in-the-making was the ace in a hole.

Lester and the Boston Red Sox never climbed out of it Monday against Matt Garza, who had gotten second billing in the matchup of emerging pitching stars but earned post-game plaudits for his six-plus innings.

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Red Sox 9-1 and took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven AL championship series. Lester was simply beaten - badly.

"At times I was effective with everything, but I didn't execute, for the most part, two pitches and they hurt me," Lester said.

B.J. Upton smacked a fastball down the middle of the plate in the third inning for a three-run homer, clearing the Green Monster, the seats behind it and three billboards high above the street. Two batters later, Evan Longoria pounced on a cutter high in the strike zone and hit a solo homer that cleared the 37-foot high wall, with Canadian left-fielder Jason Bay remaining largely in place.

"When you leave pitches out over the middle of the plate like that to good hitters, they're supposed to do what they did," Lester said. "I didn't stay away from a big inning."

And it happened in his own stadium.

Lester was 11-1 at Fenway Park this season, including a no-hitter May 19 against Kansas City, and 16-6 overall with a 3.21 ERA.

But the big left-hander was touched for five runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings after pitching 14 innings in his first two post-season games this year without allowing an earned run. That followed 5 2-3 scoreless innings in Game 4 of last year's World Series when the Red Sox completed a sweep of the Colorado Rockies.

"It certainly wasn't his sharpest outing," Boston manager Terry Francona said.

Lester tacked on two more innings without an earned run, giving him a streak of 24 2-3 in the post-season.

The Rays grabbed a 1-0 lead when Longoria scored on Jason Varitek's passed ball in the second, and Lester, at his best when he puts his 95-plus mph fastball in just the right spot, was way off target in the third.

Jason Bartlett led off a with a single, Akinori Iwamura doubled and Upton homered before Lester struck out Carlos Pena for the first out. But Longoria went deep to give Tampa Bay a 5-0 lead.

"Three-run homers are nice to get. We were very fortunate," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "But I have a lot of respect for him. This is one of the better young left-handed pitchers in the league."

Lester allowed four earned runs and two homers in the third, a dramatic drop from his career post-season totals of two earned runs and one homer in 25 2-3 innings through the second inning against the Rays.

"You've got to take advantage of his mistakes," Upton said. "You can't let him get away with it. Today we didn't let him get away with it."

One of Lester's problems was clear: an inability to retire the leadoff hitter.

He retired the leadoff hitter in his first 15 innings this post-season, including two seven-inning stints in the AL division series against the Los Angeles Angels. But the next four leadoff hitters reached base - Longoria on a walk in the second, Bartlett on his single in the third, Dioner Navarro on a single in the fourth and Upton on a single in the fifth.

Lester held the Rays scoreless in the fourth and fifth then retired the first two hitters in the sixth. But after walking Rocco Baldelli, he was replaced by Paul Byrd after 96 pitches.

"He settled in," Varitek said. "We made some (pitch) selection errors. I'll take the blame for that. And they did a good job of hitting"

Lester's struggles came after Josh Beckett, a post-season star until this season, allowed eight runs over 4 1-3 innings in Boston's 9-8 loss in 11 innings that evened the series Saturday night.

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Better Pitching with an Erection?

Better Pitching with an Erection?

Just when you think Roger Clemens can't possibly become a bigger joke than he already is, we learn that the Rocket used Viagra as a performance-enhancing drug:

Clemens got the pills -- which are not banned by Major League Baseball -- from a teammate and kept them in a GNC vitamin bottle in his locker, according to an anonymous source cited by the newspaper. He also reportedly told a friend that the drug made him feel flushed and made his heart race.

I can think of something else it might have done. Suddenly, I feel the need to take a shower.

Paean to the New Guy and the Young Guy

Paean to the New Guy and the Young Guy

We know how well Jason Bay has done since coming to the Red Sox in last Thursday's final-minute trade: A batting average of .381 with two homers and six RBI in five games. He has more than done his part to help Sox fans forget that other left fielder.

But what may not be as obvious is the coincidental (is it?) surge of Jed Lowrie in that same span. The young shortstop, tasting his first extended stretch of major league play since Julio Lugo went on the disabled lists, was hitting just .269 before the trading deadline. Since then, he has been every bit as impressive as Bay: .369 with a stellar nine RBI.

This is Bay's sixth year in the big leagues, and though he has never played in anything remotely resembling the super-charged atmosphere of a Fenway sellout crowd, he has enough experience not to be rattled by the attention of being the newest member of a team operating in a fishbowl. Lowrie is another story, four years younger and seven years less experienced than Bay, he was the Johnny-come-lately on the squad until last week. Might the diversion helped him to break out? I can't say for sure, but whatever the reason, I'll take it. When the old familiar faces are struggling/tired/hurt, it is reassuring to have two guys still getting their feet wet in Boston be able to take up the slack.

Water under the Bridge

Water under the Bridge

I can scarcely find words to express my thoughts about the ceremonial first pitch preceding today's Red Sox home opener. But this being a blog, I'll try.

Let's start by saying that the pre-game ceremonies—from music by the Boston Pops and the unfurling of banners to delivery and presentation of championship rings—was a slightly toned-down version of the ceremonies that marked opening day 2005. The most notable difference was the absence of Red Sox stars spanning the generations. It was a comfortable ceremony, one to which we seem to have grown accustomed, in a good way. Yeah, this is cool. Let's do it again. And again and again. It will never be as intense, as cathartic, as what followed the 2004 victory, but that's good too. Despite the inane prognostications of people way too self-important for their own good, we Red Sox fans haven't been dealt some existential blow from which we can never recover. We used to be devoted followers of a losing team; now we're devoted followers of a winning team. No one amongst us—NO ONE—wants to go back.

What I didn't realize, though, was how much unfinished business there still was after 2004. Up until today, it had felt like that victory, with all the drama of the unprecedented ALCS comeback and ease of the World Series sweep, erased all the agony of seasons past, like we were at last free to do what other teams' fans do, look forward to what our club can do next rather than back at what they couldn't do before.

Apparently I was wrong. There was one wound that still festered, at least for one person, and probably for all the rest of us, though we probably didn't realize it. So as I sat in front of the television at 2:00 this afternoon listening to Carl Beane Joe Castiglione announce that the ceremonial first pitch would be thrown by Bill Buckner, it was as if I was watching the last piece of a puzzle fall into place, a piece no one even realized was missing until it was there. THIS was last remaining loose end.

Buckner—who ironically wore the same number as a Red Sox player that was worn by the "goat" of a prior Red Sox World Series loss, Johnny Pesky—was introduced as a player who amassed Hall of Fame numbers during his 21 year major league career, one without whom the Red Sox would not have won the American League pennant in 1986. That characterization is not an understatement. A career .289 hitter, the 15-year veteran came to Boston in 1984 and proceeded to hit double digit home runs in his first three seasons here and had an impressive .990 fielding percentage at first base for the Sox. He was also a stabilizing influence on a team that included several young players. So respected was he that John McNamara decided to leave him in the game that night in New York—when he should have been on the bench with an injured ankle—because he wanted Buckner to be on the field to savor victory.

I was thinking about all of that when I saw and heard on TV the thunderous, prolonged, and unanimous ovation given to Buckner by the fans in attendance before today's game. They must have known, like all of us know if we're honest, that we overreacted back in 1986. Seriously. The Sox didn't lose that year's World Series because of Bill Buckner. They lost because of many people and many failures, not only before that most memorable play at first but in the entire next game, in which Boston had a chance to reduce Buckner's game six error (and Evans' error, and Gedman's error, and Clemens' giving up a two-run lead, and Schiraldi's giving up a one-run lead, and Stanley's wild pitch, and of course manager McNamara's sentimental decision) to a mere footnote in what would otherwise have been a tremendous series for the Sox. They lost because the Mets played better. The ensuing years of piling on Buckner as if he alone held victory in his hands and let it slip away like sand always was ridiculous.

Frankly, I'm surprised Buckner agreed to come back. He said back in 2004 that he didn't think he'd ever set foot inside Fenway Park again, and who could have blamed him if he had stayed away? After the way some of the fans held a grudge, he would have been justified in saying, with bitterness or without, "good riddance" to the lot of us. I would be very surprised if he didn't fear in the back of his mind, or perhaps even in the front of it, that the announcement of his name might elicit a chorus of boos from which he would have no escape.

So when the boos didn't come, when he was greeted warmly and genuinely and with enthusiasm and affection, Buckner wiped away a few tears. The fans had an opportunity to collectively make things right with Buckner, and he seemed happy to accept the gesture. Have you ever had a falling out with a family member or best friend, one that lasted many years? It becomes tiring, and tired. Eventually, you just have to fix it and move on.

Which seems to be what happened this afternoon at Fenway Park. I can picture sitting at a ball game a couple months or a few years down the road and, at the point when that game's occupant of Fenway's Legends Suite is introduced, being happy to see that the guest that day is Bill Buckner. I'm sure he'll never forget how shabbily he was treated by some of the faithful, just like we'll never forget that error. But there's an understanding between us now. We have all come to terms with the ugly past and have mutually decided that it doesn't matter any more.

It feels good.

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UPDATE: Here is the full transcript of Joe Castiglione's introduction of Bill Buckner:

Now it's time to welcome the star who will throw our ceremonial first pitch on this day that we honor champions. And how happy we are that amidst this celebration and joy, this Red Sox alumnus has come back to join us. He amassed Hall of Fame caliber credentials in his 21 year major league career, and the Red Sox would never have won the 1986 American League pennant without him. Won't you please welcome back to Boston and let him know that he is welcome always. Number 6 — Bill Buckner.

All-Star Week Updates

All-Star Week Updates

Somewhat belated congratulations to All-Star Game MVP J.D. Drew. He was one of seven Red Sox All-Stars, including starters Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia, and Manny Ramirez; subs Jason Varitek (voted in by the other players) and Drew; fan favorite David Ortiz who was voted the starting DH but didn't play because of his healing injury; and reliever Jonathan Papelbon. It was sweet to see so many Red Sox players, not to mention manager Terry Francona and his coaches, descend upon the Den of Darkness, soon to be known as The House that Hank Tore Down. If only the oh-so-classy Yankees fans (just ask them — they'll tell you how classy they are) had shown a little, you know, class.

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Special thanks to 2004 ALCS MVP Mariano Rivera for holding the tie that sent the All-Star Game into extra innings until the American League could do what they always do, i.e. beat the hapless National League. With home field secured for the World Series, the Red Sox have one item knocked off their to-do list and can now focus solely on winning the division.

---

On Thursday evening, David Ortiz homered for the Pawtucket Red Sox in the first of several minor league rehab appearances leading up to what we all hope will be his return to the Sox line-up in time for in the upcoming Yankees series. A friend and I managed to make it to the game thanks to an advance online purchase of two general admission seats.

It was great. Papi's home run was but one of five—count 'em, FIVE!—hit by the PawSox. (The visiting Toledo Mud Hens had three homers of their own.) Attendance was 11,460 at a ballpark I thought only held 10,000, but that may have been before they put a grass berm and bleachers in the outfield. In any event, the place was sold out, and there were LOTS of people standing behind the general admission seats.

In addition to getting a standing O after his fourth inning solo homer, Papi got a huge ovation when he took the field for warm-ups, when he returned to the dugout after warm-ups, when he was on deck, when he was at bat, when he popped out in the first, when he lined out in the fourth (his second at-bat of the inning), when he walked in the fifth, and when he came out of the game for a pinch runner—at which point people started leaving. In fairness to the crowd, it was hot and muggy, and many of the people leaving were families with little kids. And a lot of us did stay for the whole thing. Final score: PawSox 15, Mud Hens 6, though it wasn't even as close as the score makes it sound.

PawSox starter Edgar Martinez (not to be confused with the cutie-patootie formerly of the Seattle Mariners) pitched into the seventh inning and was charged with three runs, two of which scored when Justin Masterson came on in relief and coughed up a grand slam. Let's just say he was not stellar. Chris Smith finished it out.

Every PawSox starter except Joe Thurston (Juuuuust sit right back and you'll hear a tale...) scored at least one run. Thurston and Keith Ginter had no hits, but Ginter did draw walks in three consecutive innings and scored all three times. I looked back to my spring training scorecards and realized that I saw each and every PawSox starter, plus two of the pitchers, at spring training this year. Oh, and lest I forget, Chris Carter (a.k.a. The New Lenny, a.k.a. Hunky) went 4-for-5 with two singles, a double, and a two-run homer. His last hit before being lifted for a pinch runner was a single, but of course we were all hoping for a triple so he could get the cycle.

Did I mention it was warm and muggy? Of course the air temperature cooled off a bit after the sun went down, but the place was so packed and there was only a slight intermittent breeze, so it felt much warmer because of all the amassed body heat. No one who has ever attended a game with me in the blazing heat will be surprised to learn that the bra came off while we were in line at will-call before the game. I call this the female version of "going commando."

Now I'm in Maine visiting my brother, and we hope to grab tickets for tonight's Portland Sea Dogs double-header against the Trenton Thunder, the AA affiliate of the Yankees. The not-yet-Triumphant Brother, a lifelong MFY fan due to the unfortunate after-effects of being dropped on his head as a young child, is going with me to tomorrow's game with a bunch of my crazy Red Sox friends. Since taking a job in Portland last year and moving to the area part-time, he has become totally hooked on the Sea Dogs, which I explained to him was step one in his deprogramming.

Do You Know This Man?

Do You Know This Man?

Neither do I.

But whoever he may be, he came on in relief against the Cardinals this afternoon after Daisuke Matsuzaka coughed up four runs in the first inning and loaded the bases in the second.

Naturally, inquiring minds want to know more about the (apparently) young Mr. Smith. Here's what my exhaustive internet search turned up:

• According to ESPN.com's transaction log, Smith was "recalled ... from Pawtucket of the International League (AAA)" on Tuesday, the same day Bartolo Colon went on the disabled list.
• His minorleagebaseball.com player page says he was "[s]elected by the Boston Red Sox in the 4th round (their 3rd pick, No. 118 overall) of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft" after playing three years of college ball at University of California at Riverside.
• He has played in 22 games, including four starts, with a 1.52 ERA for the PawSox this season.
• Last season, he pitched for AA Portland (6-9, 4.41) and Pawtucket (0-0, 1.80).
• My scorebook informs me that he didn't appear in any of the six spring training games I attended last February and March.

The only other thing I can tell you is that since giving up a grand slam this afternoon (the runners on base were charged to Matsuzaka), he has pitched three scoreless inning.

Rings!

The new Red Sox World Champion ring has been revealed, and once again it's a beauty.

Reminiscent of the 2004 ring, it features the team colors in gemstones: a ruby logo on a diamond of diamonds on a background of sapphires. But this time, instead of the stylized "B", the logo used is the two red socks. Like the '04 ring, this one is eminently wearable, as demonstrated when Mayor Tom Menino modeled both a tthe unveiling earlier today.

One person who wears his World Series ring every day is Fenway Park's public address announcer, Carl Beane, who comes to my office occasionally to have lunch with his wife, who also works here. I can't wait to see his new ring—and try it on.

That's Why We Chant YOOOOOUK!

Not only was it news at MLB.com, the Boston Herald, Providence Journal, Washington Post, and countless other sports pages around the country, but it was also this morning's question in a daily e-mail trivia game I play. The question: "Boston Red Sox player Kevin Youkilis just set a Major League Baseball record for what?" The answer: Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis is baseball's new all-time leader in errorless games played at first base. Succinctly documented on SI.com:

Kevin Youkilis set the major league record for consecutive errorless games by a first baseman, playing his 194th consecutive mistake-free game at first to break Steve Garvey's record. The A's gave first base to Youkilis in appreciation, and the ball used on his final putout was sent to the Hall of Fame.

What the articles don't mention is that the record is actually for consecutive errorless regular season games. Alert fans may recall that Youkilis committed an error in Game 4 of last year's American League Championship Series against Cleveland. No matter. It's still a remarkable accomplishment which is unlikely to be equalled any time soon, especially if the streak continues awhile longer.

And as the Herald article notes, there is some incentive for Youkilis to remain perfect awhile longer: He stands just 72 errorless defensive chances shy of Stuffy McInnis. Youk could tie that record with six more games like last night's, in which he was credited with a dozen chances.

Why This Was a Good Trade

I had an interesting experience on the Dodgers message board yesterday after the Manny Ramirez trade was announced. Besides discovering that moronic posters inhabit that board too, I had a productive exchange with one person. (Alas, only one. The others were, well, re-read the beginning of the last sentence.)

A board member calling him/herself "tennismenace" wrote, "I think your team will come in 3rd place. Drew is choking and you have two stiffs at the end of your lineup. You lose arguable your best hitter now. Good luck, but expect to see the NYY pass you."

Of course, I love a good baseball discussion and the chance to Here is my response to tennismenace about why I disagreed with his/her assessment:

1. You are making the mistake with Drew of assuming that the current trend (i.e. this July) is the trend that will continue. To make a more valid prediction, you should look at historical performance. For example, in the last couple years, he's been lousy in July, but much bettter in August and September. That's why we aren't particularly worried about him right now.

2. Manny, on the other hand, has a habit of missing games in September, when his at-bats plummet because that's when he is most likely to take himself out of games. We have already gotten from him what are typically his most productive months (excluding, of course, the postseason).

3. The other factor to consider is that Manny's production has begun to decline, as one would expect to happen with age. He is still a formidable hitter, better than many players several years younger than he is, but chances are he isn't trending upward overall. His batting average/homers/RBI in his eight seasons with the Red Sox have been (in chronological order from 2001 to 2008) .306/41/125, .349/33/107, .325/37/104, .308/43/130, .292/45/144, .321/35/102, .296/20/88, and this year projecting to (presuming games played in the last two seasons) .299/27/90. What we have now that we didn't have in Manny's best years are two younger players whose offense is on the uptick: Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis. Obviously, neither has the power Manny has, but they are more than making up for his average. And Jason Bay is on pace with Manny this season with homers and RBI, so that's a better fit than one might expect.

4. Even with their weak bottom of the order, the Red Sox have the third most runs scored in the American League, the third best team batting average, the fifth most home runs, and the best on-base percentage. They can afford weaker hitters down the lineup because others are so productive.

5. The Yankees, though improving, still lag significantly behind the Sox in those offensive categories, as well as pitching categories like batting average against and, to a lesser extent, earned run average. Two of their historically most consistent players, Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada, are lost for the season. Furthermore, the Yankees are usually strong this time of year, when the Red Sox typically slump. Frankly, my bigger concern is not the Yankees but the Rays.

Whether I am correct remains to be seen. But his is hardly the gloom-and-doom situation many removed from the recent happenings here seem to think it is. And this information, looked at rationally, makes bloviators like Michael Felger, who has been foaming at the mouth on WEEI all morning, seem a bit unhinged.

No, Manny, the Red Sox Don't Deserve You

Man-child, idiot savant, multiple personality Manny Ramirez made a proclamation yesterday that perfectly sums up where his relationship with the Boston Red Sox has ended up.

"Boston no me ha dicho nada, no me han pedido que firme ningún papel o algo parecido", dijo Ramírez a ESPNdeportes.com desde el estadio Fenway Park antes del inicio del partido del miércoles contra los Angelinos de Los Angeles.

[ . . . ]

"Los Medias Rojas no merecen un pelotero como yo", dijo.

In English, as far as I can figure out :

"Boston has not told me nothing, has not asked me to sign no paper or anything like that," Ramirez said to ESPNdeportes.com [from] Fenway Park before the start of Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Angels.

"The Boston Red Sox do not deserve a player like me," he said.

You know what? He's right. The Red Sox don't deserve what he has dished out over the years. They don't deserve a $20 million player who won't run out a ground ball, who takes himself out of the lineup for the kinds of aches and pains that every other major leaguer plays with on a regular basis, who makes inappropriate jokes at inappropriate times about the prospect of a trade necessitated by his temper tantrums, etc. Having paid him a lot of money over the years, they certainly deserve the production they got from him, but they don't deserve the horse manure he has been shoveling for far too long.

So will they Sox cast off Ramirez in a deal at the trade deadline? That is the burning question. This morning, the reports were that he would end up with the Marlins in a three-way deal that would net the Sox Jason Bay from Pittsburgh. That deal now appears dead, due to either (depending on whose "sources" you believe) the Marlins' insistence on extra cash from the Sox in addition to their paying the rest of Ramirez' salary, or the Pirates' insistence on too many prospects.

On the other hand, WEEI is just now commenting on a Sports Illustrated report of a possible deal with the Dodgers. Let's hope.

End of an Era

My spring training reminiscences will appear sporadically between now and the beginning of the season, but for now, there is news.

The Doug Mirabelli era appears to be over.

The Red Sox have just made Doug Mirabelli's release official. He was placed on unconditional release waivers.

[ . . . ]

[Kevin] Cash is a non-roster player, but he had not yet been upgraded to the roster. [H]e appears to be a likely choice to be added, however.

The Sox replaced Mirabelli in [today's] lineup with Pawtucket catcher Dusty Brown, who is also considered a possible candidate for the major league club.