Red Sox-Rays set to begin AL East duel
With second place in the American League East well up for grabs, the Boston Red Sox play host to the Tampa Bay Rays for a three-game series beginning Tuesday. The two teams have swapped positions in the standings several times over the past week, with the Rays currently holding second place by a half game. Riding high off its biggest comeback win since 2012, Tampa Bay will send right-hander Charlie Morton (12-3, 2.60 ERA) to the mound. The Red Sox counter with left-hander David Price (7-4, 3.66). The two clubs met for three games in Tampa Bay last week, with Boston taking the first two contests. The third, a 3-2 Rays win, was initially protested by the Red Sox in response to a series of late moves involving pitchers playing positions and whether the Rays could keep their designated hitter. Boston ultimately dropped the appeal. From there, the Rays traveled to face the Blue Jays in Toronto, where they experienced an unprecedented see-saw of emotion. After losing a game in which they held a seven-run lead Saturday, they came back from seven runs down in a 10-9 win Sunday, a first in major league history. Tampa Bay scored all 10 of its runs over the final five innings, including Willy Adames' game-tying home run in the eighth inning and Joey Wendle's go-ahead RBI in the ninth. "It was nice to come back," said Rays manager Kevin Cash. "You've got to separate (Saturday) for what it was and worry about (Sunday's) game. It was really encouraging. You think about where our thoughts were in the dugout two hours (before), they weren't the most positive thoughts. But give the guys a lot of credit for bouncing back." "As discouraging as that loss was, this will get us right back on track," said Wendle. The Red Sox, meanwhile, returned home to bludgeon the first-place New York Yankees over the course of a four-game series. Boston outscored New York 38-13 over the first three contests before falling 9-6 in the finale Sunday night. Still, the weekend was an overall success for Boston, which trimmed the Yankees' lead in the division to 8 1/2 and firmed up its place in the wild-card race, one game back of the Oakland Athletics for the No. 2 spot. "We just want to dance, man," Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. "We just want to get there." Over the course of this week's series, the trade deadline will take place Wednesday. The Rays made a move Sunday, acquiring valuable utility man Eric Sogard (.300 average, 10 home runs) from the Blue Jays, while the Red Sox are expected to still be in the hunt for a reliever. "We know where we're at with the club, and we know what we have to do to make it better," said Cora. Price comes in off a hard-luck loss against the Rays his last time out, allowing three runs and striking out eight over six innings. The former Tampa Bay ace is 6-6 with a 3.23 ERA lifetime in 18 games (17 starts) opposite his old club. Morton got the win in that same game, giving up two runs and striking out 11 Red Sox over seven innings. In his career against Boston, he's 5-1 with a 3.86 ERA in seven starts against Boston. The Rays and Red Sox have already played 12 times this season, each team winning six games. --Field Level Media |