Manager Joe Maddon talked about how the team's offense may be coming around and hinted that other teams might want to take note.
"We're not going away, they know we're not going away," he said. "To go through these tribulations offensively and to still be right in the thick of things, I'll take it."
No, the Rays are not going away, despite what some people thought. There are too many good players in that group and a five-deep rotation led by a guy who dominates the Red Sox.
Matt Garza allowed three runs in seven-plus innings Wednesday and is now 5-2 with a 3.10 ERA against Boston in his career.
"Now what are we? Two back?" Garza asked reporters. "That puts us within striking distance."
It'll be just a few days before Tampa Bay gets its next crack at the Sox. Before a visit to Florida on Monday for three games in The Trop, Boston hosts Baltimore for three straight starting Friday.
Tim Wakefield opposes Brad Bergesen in the opener. First pitch, as usual, is 7:10 p.m. In the meantime the Sox need to figure out what is wrong with the bullpen, specifically Manny Delcarmen, who will be "looked at" Thursday to determine if there is anything physically wrong with him, according to manager Terry Francona.
Stay tuned.
Final, Rays 9-4: Matt Garza was very good. The Red Sox' bullpen was not. It adds up to a relatively easy Rays win, further tightening the American League East.
Boston remains a game behind first-place New York while Tampa Bay is now just two out.
These two teams meet for three games in Florida next Monday. That will begin a stretch of 26 out of 37 games on the road for the Sox.
Back in a bit to sum things up.
Mid 9th, Rays 9-4: Bill Hall hasn't just held his own the last two nights at second base, but has actually played very well defensively. He cuts down a runner at home plate for the second out of the ninth, keeping the Sox within five.
In 2009, you might look at a situation like this and give Boston a good chance to make some noise — the Rays' bullpen was a mess.
It's a bit of a different situation this year. Not only do they have a very good closer in Rafael Soriano, but the guy on the mound right now — Joaquin Benoit — has been a shutdown option for manager Joe Maddon.
Benoit has a 0.86 ERA and 31 strikeouts against only four walks in 21 innings.
End 8th, Rays 9-4: You figured it would take a miracle for the Sox to erase an eight-run deficit in two innings. Well, it might only be a mini miracle now after they score three times in the eighth to give themselves a little life.
It could've been more if not for Ben Zobrist's outstanding catch of an Adrian Beltre shot to the track in center for the second out.
David Ortiz scored on the sacrifice fly, but had it fallen in the Sox might still be batting.
Gustavo Molina is on to catch the ninth, making his debut in a Red Sox uniform.
10:17 p.m.: Matt Garza's night comes to an end after he lets the first two reach in the eighth and Randy Choate throws one pitch to David Ortiz that results in a two-run double. Grant Balfour is coming on with Ortiz on second and nobody out in the inning.
Mid 8th, Rays 9-1: The big blows in Tampa Bay's six-run eighth were a three-run homer by Jason Bartlett and a two-run single by Sean Rodriguez. Manny Delcarmen is charged with five of the runs and has now given up nine runs in one inning over his last three outings. Whoa.
10:05 p.m.: If you scan down below to a pregame post I mentioned how the Rays were confident their offense was about to break out. It has. In a big way.
9:58 p.m.: Manny Delcarmen was called upon to just keep this one close, but the Rays are on the verge of breaking it wide open after he fails to get an out and leaves trailing 6-1.
Ramon Ramirez is in to clean up the mess, but Delcarmen's struggles beg for a closer look. We will examine after the inning.
End 7th, Rays 3-1: It wouldn't be a Red Sox game without an Adrian Beltre hit, so he delivers in the seventh with a leadoff single. Beltre moves up 90 feet on a wild pitch with no outs and the Sox later get a second runner when Darnell McDonald walks, but nothing comes of it.
Mike Cameron made a nice bid to tie the game when his shot to the corner in right was tracked down to end it.
Matt Garza should have one more in him.
Manny Delcarmen is the third Boston pitcher of the night, taking over for Scott Atchison.
Mid 7th, Rays 3-1: Scott Atchison does his job, as he has often of late. He works through the Rays in order in the seventh.
Just imagine if Mike Cameron came up with that Kelly Shoppach double in the fourth that scored two runs. If he caught it a run would've come in from third but the Rays may not have scored more than one in the inning. Game of inches sometimes.
End 6th, Rays 3-1: It was David Ortiz who got the Sox on the board Tuesday with a three-run bomb in the fifth. He does so again in this one by driving in Eric Patterson with a double off the Green Monster.
Patterson reached when he took a 94 mph fastball square in the back. Not what Matt Garza wanted to do with Big Papi on deck and two outs in the inning.
Scott Atchison is taking over for Daisuke Matsuzaka, who gave up three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out seven.
Mid 6th, Rays 3-0: On his 111th pitch Daisuke Matsuzaka picks up his seventh strikeout and can exit this one with a quality start in his pocket, if in fact he is done.
There is nobody currently up in the Boston bullpen, so maybe he will get another shot in the seventh.
End 5th, Rays 3-0: Jason Varitek rips the Red Sox' second hit of the game and Bill Hall sends one to the triangle. Nothing Matt Garza can't work around, at least not in this one.
Garza has needed only 67 pitches to work through five innings so far. He has been excellent, but you also have to figure that there will be some quiet nights for the Boston offense for the next month or so.
Perhaps this is just one of those nights.
Mid 5th, Rays 3-0: Matt Joyce has drawn two walks and has been hit by a pitch in three trips to the plate against Daisuke Matsuzaka. He entered the game 1-for-12 (.083) on the year, so naturally Matsuzaka is pitching to him very carefully.
Joyce got a bit bold and tried to steal second but was thrown out by Jason Varitek, ending a streak of 19 straight successful steals by the Rays against the Sox.
End 4th, Rays 3-0: Rough night so far for Kevin Youkilis, who has two strikeouts and an error. His latest whiff to end the fourth goes in three pitches, and he looked bad on a couple of them.
Matt Garza has surrendered one hit and it came on his fourth pitch of the game.
Mid 4th, Rays 3-0: The Rays were in need of the big hit with runners on after stranding a boatload of guys early. They finally got it when Kelly Shoppach doubled off the wall in center to drive in two, and then added another on Ben Zobrist's RBI single with two outs.
Mike Cameron will tell you he should've had Shoppach's drive and he had a chance. The ball simply sailed wide of his glove as he leaped against the wall.
Althought it didn't lead to any more runs we also saw a very uncharacteristic mistake by Kevin Youkilis. Cameron threw in on the Zobrist single and Youkilis cut it off near the mound before throwing home, despite the fact that Shoppach was just about in his slide already.
The ball sailed wide of catcher Jason Varitek for a rare Youkilis error, allowing Zobrist to advance.
A strikeout of Carl Crawford ended the charade, but Matsuzaka is not long for this one. He has walked four and thrown 85 pitches already.
End 3rd, 0-0: In his previous start here at Fenway Park back in April, Matt Garza faced the minimum number of batters through the first seven innings. With the help of a first-inning double play in this one he has faced just nine men through three.
Mike Cameron is Garza's third strikeout victim to end the third.
Mid 3rd, 0-0: It took Daisuke Matsuzaka 29 pitches to get through the first inning. He needed 20 to work through the second. Just seven pitches were needed in the third. Safe to say he has settled in a bit.
End 2nd, 0-0: Adrian Beltre makes a nice bid for his sixth straight hit overall with a drive toward the Red Sox' bullpen in right, but it is tracked down near the track by Matt Joyce.
Matt Garza has set down five straight since Marco Scutaro's leadoff single.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: The Rays strand three in the first and leave a runner at second in the second. On his 49th pitch, Daisuke Matsuzaka strikes out Ben Zobrist to finish the frame.
Tampa Bay has successfully stolen 19 straight bases against the Sox after Sean Rodriguez singled and swiped second.
End 1st, 0-0: Eric Patterson's first at bat in a Red Sox uniform results in a 6-4-3 double play, erasing a leadoff single by Marco Scutaro. Patterson did show off the speed the club likes, making the relay to first a close play.
Take Adrian Beltre out of the equation and the current Red Sox lineup has some ugly numbers against Rays starter Matt Garza, posting a collective .186 (21-for-113) average.
Of course, you can't take Beltre out of any equation these days. The red-hot third baseman is 6-for-17 (.438) vs. Garza and will bat second in the second.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Twenty-nine pitches, 13 strikes, three walks and zero runs. There's a Daisuke Matsuzaka special for you, folks.
For the second straight game Matsuzaka walks three men in the first inning. He survived this one when John Jaso's liner was caught by a leaping Mike Cameron in center field.
Matsuzaka's first-inning ERA drops to 12.60. He has now walked 14 batters in 10 opening frames this year.
6:59 p.m.: Daisuke Matsuzaka is throwing in the bullpen and hopefully getting warm enough to avoid his first-inning issues in this one.
The Red Sox righty has an ERA of 14.00 in the first inning. That mark falls to 2.56 thereafter. If you recall, the Sox had Dustin Richardson warming in the bullpen during the first inning of Matsuzaka's last start in Colorado, during which he was fortunate to give up only two runs.
Bears watching, especially with the way the Rays finished last game. They scored five runs over the last three innings, prompting some on that side to feel that a breakout is coming soon.
6:12 p.m.: Gov. Deval Patrick is in the house. The Sox signed him as a fifth outfielder, according to rumors.
On a more serious note, Adrian Beltre enters this one with a .349 average, just eight points behind New York's Robinson Cano for the AL lead.
The production has been so consistent for Beltre, stunning even those who are around him every day.
"When guys are free swingers like Adrian is they usually get real hot but they can also get cold," Terry Francona said. "He's swinging…this guy has taken it for two months. He's hitting everything in sight.
Francona said he gets a sharp look from Beltre every time the skipper is near his third baseman's locker.
"His biggest fear is not playing. Every time he sees one of us walk by he's scared to death that we're gonna give him a day off. We did that a few times in April and I don't think it helped him. So we're just gonna let him play."
Beltre is hitting .378 with seven homers and 18 RBIs in June. He is a .500 hitter against the Rays this year and has hit Matt Garza well, so we could see him get over that .350 mark Wednesday.
5:35 p.m.: Hideki Okajima gave up a two-run homer in his 2/3 inning pitched Tuesday night, the latest rough outing for the lefty. Terry Francona said that part of the problem is command, but some of it has to do with the less-than-intense situations in which Okajima has been of late.
"A couple of games, when he's come in when the game's not in doubt, he's not pitched well and I understand that," Francona said. "He loves the adreneline so I think that has helped raise his ERA a little bit."
Okajima entered in the eighth inning of an 8-1 game Tuesday night. After getting the first out he gave up a walk and the home run. A triple one-out later chased the southpaw, whose numbers continue to suffer.
Okie's ERA is at 5.81, his WHIP an ugly 1.82 and opponents are batting .324. His numbers in each of these categories have risen every year since he joined the Sox, but the jump in 2010 is certainly alarming.
The struggles are one reason the club has kept fellow lefty Dustin Richardson around. Francona fears that Okajima has been up and down too often in the bullpen over the past two years without even going into some of those games. That can take a toll, the skipper believes.
"We wanna get Okie hot," Francona said.
Until they do, expect his role to be reduced even more than it already has.
5:13 p.m.: With the J.D. Drew injury and the second straight night with no B.J. Upton in center field for the Rays, we have some interesting lineups. Here they are, updated for you.:
Red Sox
Marco Scutaro, SS
Eric Patterson, LF
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Adrian Beltre, 3B
Bill Hall, 2B
Jason Varitek, C
Darnell McDonald, RF
Mike Cameron, CF
Rays
Ben Zobrist, CF
Carl Crawford, LF
Evan Longoria, 3B
Carlos Pena, 1B
Matt Joyce, RF
John Jaso, DH
Sean Rodriguez, 2B
Kelly Shoppach, C
Jason Bartlett, SS
5:02 p.m: The sight of Dustin Pedroia taking grounders on the infield grass from his knees caused a bit of a buzz here Wednesday afternoon. It caused a reaction from Terry Francona, as well.
"He's a maniac," Francona said. "He knows he can't put any weight on that foot. He knows he's gonna slow himself down if he does, so he'll abide by the rules but he's gonna bend them as much as he can."
Pedroia was not out there very long, but got in about a dozen grounders before being handed his crutches and hopping off the field. He indicated he just wanted to keep the hands moving.
"Anybody who's been around him for two seconds knows he's gonna do everything in his power to be ready to go when the bell rings, whenever that is," Francona added. "He's unique."
The Sox skipper touched on a few other items in his pregame media session, including the installment of Eric Patterson in left, which has a two-fold effect. For one, Francona wanted to get Patterson into a game. Also, it was about time that Nava got a little rest after a mini slump over the past week or so.
"I don't think there was any reasonable expectation where he was gonna drive in 300," said Francona of Nava. "I don't care who you are. He kinda cooled off on the road trip a little bit. He's been playing a lot. I just thought it would be really good for him."
Nava is 3-for-21 (.143) in his last five games.
Back in a bit with more. We just got word that J.D. Drew was scratched with a sore neck. Going to get you the skinny on that, too.
3:30 p.m.: Eric Patterson, acquired Saturday in a trade with Oakland, is currently taking balls off the Green Monster in preparation for his first action with the Sox. Patterson is playing left and batting second Wednesday night. Here is the complete Boston lineup:
Marco Scutaro, SS
Eric Patterson, LF
David Ortiz, DH
Kevin Youkilis, 1B
Adrian Beltre, 3B
J.D. Drew, RF
Bill Hall, 2B
Jason Varitek, C
Mike Cameron, CF
We are also currently watching Dustin Pedroia on his knees in the Red Sox infield playing catch with one of the coaches. Now, to the amazement of all of us in the press box, he is taking grounders…on his knees!
3:03 p.m.: Greetings from Fenway Park, where the sky is blue and so are the Rays, losers of nine of 12.
The postgame talk in the Tampa Bay clubhouse after Tuesday's 8-5 loss to the Red Sox touched on the club's lack of offense of late. But manager Joe Maddon was very encouraged by the five runs his team put up in the final three innings, hoping it will jumpstart what was a pretty potent attack just over a month ago.
"We know how to hit. We'll be fine," a confident Maddon said.
The Rays have hit .206 with just six homers and an embarrassing .306 slugging percentage over the past two weeks.
We should have their lineup against Daisuke Matsuzaka in a moment, as well as the Red Sox starters against Matt Garza.
7:30 a.m.: The Red Sox look to make it five straight over the Tampa Bay Rays when the two teams meet Wednesday at Fenway Park in the finale of a quick two-game series.
Boston took the opener 8-5 behind seven strong innings from John Lackey and home runs from David Ortiz and Bill Hall. It was the Sox' third straight win overall and gave them 47 victories, tied with the New York Yankees for the most in the majors.
Daisuke Matsuzaka opposes Matt Garza on Wednesday. First pitch is 7:10 p.m.
