Rays @ Boston April 7th

James Shields vs Josh Beckett. Im a big Rays fan. I love how they play, I love their defense, I love how they win with timely hitting, a great pen, and not just mashing the ball (ie WhiteSox, Tigers).
I also hate the RedSox. I hate their obnoxious fans. But at least they are a good watchable team, who can pitch and play d, unlike the Yanks.

I think the Rays can repeat this year, most people seem to think they wont make the playoffs, count me as someone who thinks they win the wildcard, at worst.
Leading off vs Beckett is Aki Iwamura, one of the players I most enjoy watching in the entire league, great defender, solid hitter.
4 pitches later, he has struck out. I also expect Beckett to have a much better year than last. Carl Crawford grounds out to short and Lowrie makes a really nice snag to get the fastest runner in the AL by 2 steps. Evan Longoria is up, total badass. Great fielder, gonna be a great hitter too.
Beckett looks in playoff form already. WOW. Strikes out Longoria on 4 pitches also, including 2 very nice breaking balls, back to back.

Shields quickly strikes out Jacoby Ellsbury (overrated) and little man Dustin Pedroia steps to the plate and crushes one over the monster, as he often does. Big Papi singles up the middle. and after Youkilis flies out, JD Drew doubles off the wall. The RedSox always beat Shields in Fenway, and today may be no different. Jason Bay comes up with men on 2nd and 3rd and 2 down...
Shields better get Bay out here or they are digging themselves a nice early hole vs a great pitcher.

Bay walks on 6 pitches. Not good. Bases loaded, but 2 down for Mike Lowell. 2-2 count to Lowell, big pitch coming here. One run is not a problem, 5 runs is a problem!
And Lowell pops up to first. NICE

Another 1-2-3 inning for Beckett, another K (Carlos Pena) and 2 fly outs. He looks fantastic thus far. Very good for Tampa that Boston scored only once!
Shields bounces back in the second for a sub 10 pitch inning, 1-2-3 on a few grounders and a weak fly out by Varitek (done).
Catcher Dioner Navarro leads off with a groundout to Youkilis, and RF Gabe Gross follows with a nice at bat, pushing the count full with several foul balls. His AB ends with a walk, on a very close pitch that, to me, seemed to hit the outside edge of the plate. Beckett looks very very good.
SS Jason Bartlett steps up, this is the first chance the Rays have had thus far.....
Bartlett works the count to 3-1. Beckett laboring a little bit this inning with his control. Gross runs, Bartlett swings thru, and the runner is safe at second with 1 down, and now a full count...
and a walk to Bartlett. Wow, he gets 1-7 out very easily and walks the 2 worst hitters on the team, go figure. Up steps leadoff hitter Iwamura again. And the first hit of the game for the RAYS!! BAses loaded, one down for Carl Crawford. I personally guarantee a run scores here!
First pitch sac fly by CC and its a new ballgame, 1-1. 2 on (1st and 3rd), 2 out for Longoria.
Longoria flys out to right, and its still 1-1 to the bottom of the 3rd.
Pedroia leads off the 3rd with a walk, and Ortiz comes up. He flies out to short right. Youkilis hits one off the bottom of the wall and men are at the corners with just 1 down for Drew. Again, I expect a run to score here....
Drew grounds to first and Pena makes a great stab, saving another run. Too late to throw down to second, but he does touch the bag to nail Drew. 2 down, runner on second. 2-1 Boston. And Bay hits one thru the first base hole to score another run. Doggone it. 3-1 Bosox. Lowell hits one off the wall, scoring Bay. Shields had a bad first inning and lucked out. He has not gotten very lucky in the 3rd. Another Boston home win looking increasingly likely...
66 pitches so far for Shields, he wont be getting past the 5th at this rate. Jed Lowrie with a bloops single and runners now stand at first and third, still, 2 outs. A nice rally for the Bosox. Man, they are so tough at home. Varitek is up, if he gets a hit and breaks it open, then this game will suck. But he does not, he flies out to right instead.

Top of the 4th, Beckett comes back with a 1-2-3 shutdown inning. The Rays sure could have used more than 1 run back in the 3rd. damn.
Shields gets the bottom of the 4th going quickly, shutting down the first two hitters. Up steps Ortiz again. Shields needs to get thru this one quickly to save the pen. They dont need a 5 inning start in Fenway, thats never good for the next 2 games.
Ortiz flies out to center. Well done Shields.

Top of 5, Navarro leads off and strikes out on 5 pitches. 6 k's in 4.1 Ip thus far. The guy looks amazing.
Up comes Gabe Gross, 3 pitches later, another strikeout. up to 7 now for Beckett. TB is in some trouble. Jason Bartlett bloops out to short. I repeat, TB is in some trouble.
Bottom 5, Youkilis leads off with a double, and this is gonna be it for Shields if he allows another run, I'm guessing. A walk for JD Drew and the Rays bullpen is working hard. Last batter for Shields perhaps? This game is smelling like a blowout. We may switch over to the Giants-Brewers game, which is much more competitive.
Bay bloops a single to left but Youkilis was unsure if the ball would drop, and is thrown out at third. First and second, 1 out now. Shields got a bit lucky there. Lowell up now. And Lowell is always good for a double play grounder, and he obliges. A slow roller to third, Longoria touches the bag and fires to first, a Rays' crisis averted for now.

Top of 6, Iwamura leads off with a single. A rally coming? Crawford follows up with a gap double to left and Longoria comes up with runners on 2nd + 3rd and 0 outs. Hopefully he will put together a nice AB, which he has yet to do today.
This is the Rays best chance today to make a game of this!
And Longoria fouls out to catcher, horrible at bat, he doesnt even think about being patient. I love the guy but he does this an awful lot. If you want a good at bat, he is not the guy I want up. Id much prefer the current hitter, Carlos Pena, up with 1 out now.
Right now it seems I spoke too soon, Pena swinging at two pitches that are nowhere near strikes. This is the Rays best chance and they arent doing much about it. 1-2 to Pena now...
There are relievers up in boston's pen, but they wont be needed unless 2 more runners reach base, in my estimation.
Pena has worked the count even at 2-2, and Pena k's looking. What an awful game for Pena, 3 k's already! Former Phils leftfielder Pat Burrell steps up chops a grounder to 3rd. Wow!. 2nd and 3rd and nobody out and the 3-4-5 hitters cant get the ball out of the infield. This may not be the Tampa's day.

bottom 6. Varitek cracks a very close-to-the-foul-pole home run. My motto is this, if Varitek gets a home run, then the RedSox will probably win the game. I am not a fan of his. Shields has been pulled. Game is looking close to over, the Rays missed out on a chance you cannot miss out on in the top half of the inning.

Rays bounce back with 2 in the 8th on single by Longoria. 5-3 now, Bosox.

Top of the 9th, last chance for the Rays.
Papelbon in to face pink hitter Matt Joyce, batting from the left side. 2 pitches in, he pops out to 2b.
Next up Navarro strikes out. And then Gross strikes out. Thats the game. Lousy one at that.