So, what do we have here? Mike Cameron is back, as is Darnell McDonald after being told he was designated for assignment, Ellsbury remains a question mark and catcher Victor Martinez is day-to-day with a bruised toe.
It seems as if the Sox just can't quite get that entire group of regulars back playing at the same time. So long as the wins keep coming, I'm sure they are OK with that for now.
The onus to keep alive a dominant stretch of starts falls on the shoulders of the slumping John Lackey, who goes opposite Matt Garza.
It might be the one pitching matchup with truly favors the Rays, but that hasn't mattered much of late with Boston, which has won seven of eight.
First pitch for Wednesday's finale is 7:10 p.m. We will follow all the action right here.
Final, Red Sox 2-0: What a run this has become for the Red Sox' pitching staff, and it's all come without Josh Beckett and with John Lackey struggling. Jon Lester and three relievers combine on a one-hit shutout as Boston wins for the seventh time in eight games and pulls to within 6 1/2 of first-place Tampa Bay in the American League East.
The Sox' pitchers did walk six men in this one, including a career high-tying five for Lester. Jonathan Papelbon allowed the other to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth.
But Papelbon strikes out B.J. Upton, the 12th K of the night for Boston pitchers, to nail down save No. 11 and keep Boston on a roll.
The club will go for a sweep Wednesday night when Lackey opposes Matt Garza.
Mid 9th, Red Sox 2-0: Jonathan Papelbon has not pitched since that tense save in New York a week ago (one day after his gave up four runs in a loss to the Yanks). In his career, he has gone six days or more between relief appearances just 12 times, recording nine saves and a 2.08 ERA.
Kevin Youkilis drew his second walk of the night and 27th in the month of May to lead off the ninth and break up a string of 16 straight hitters retired by Rays pitchers.
It also stopped Joaquin Benoit's run of nine straight strikeouts over his last three outings.
End 8th, Red Sox 2-0: We get to see Mike Cameron make a running catch to start the eighth. He appeared to get a late break but it was nice to witness him close on a ball and make the snag on a dead sprint. It's been awhile.
Three Red Sox pitchers have combined for 11 strikeouts and one hit allowed in the first eight innings of this game.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 2-0: James Shields may get one of those rare complete game losses. Why take him out after he's thrown just 107 pitches and has set down 16 in a row?
End 7th, Red Sox 2-0: There has not been a single hit in this game since Willy Aybar had a base hit with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning. Manny Delcarmen picks up where Jon Lester left off by retiring the Rays in order in the seventh.
Daniel Bard is up and will likely pitch the eighth ahead of Jonathan Papelbon, provided things remain the same on the scoreboard. Bard got the last three outs in Monday's win.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 2-0: The way this one started for James Shields (bases-loaded jam in the first, two runs allowed in the third), it was hard to imagine him throwing just four pitches to cruise through the seventh with fewer than 100 thrown.
Shields has retired 13 in a row.
End 6th, Red Sox 2-0: Again Jon Lester issues a walk, and again he works around it. The lefty has issued five free passes, which ties a career high. The last time he walked that many was on April 14, 2008, against Cleveland.
Lester walked Evan Longoria in the sixth. Longoria moved to second when Adrian Beltre robbed Willy Aybar of a hit but was left there when Lester struck out Carlos Pena on his 110th pitch of the night.
It was the ninth K for Lester. He has struck out at least that many in three straight starts.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 2-0: While the Rays got pretty heated in the fifth, James Shields remains cool. He has set down 10 Red Sox in a row since David Ortiz double in the only runs of the game in the third.
End 5th, Red Sox 2-0: A rather quiet affair at the Trop just exploded in the fifth when both Carl Crawford and Rays manager Joe Maddon were ejected in heated arguments with home plate umpire Bob Davidson. Crawford argued a strike call and appeared to have hit Davidson's nose with the brim of his helmet. It was a tamer version of Carl Everett's explosion with the Sox back in 2000, but a suspension is forthcoming for Crawford.
Maddon raced out to defend Crawford and went at it with Davidson just inches from one another. Spit was most certainly swapped, and Maddon was tossed.
The call in question was a bad one. Jon Lester was given a strike on a breaking ball that sailed about a foot outside, and it came moments after Gabe Kapler was rung up on a questionable pitch.
Through the drama Lester worked around a one-out walk.
Sean Rodriguez has replaced Crawford in left.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 2-0: Since giving up a two-run double to David Ortiz in the third for the only scoring of the game, James Shields has retired seven in a row, while striking out three.
Both starters are cruising but the bullpens will be involved, as both are approaching 80 pitches. That favors the Red Sox, who have an extremely rested bullpen. The Rays' relievers had to go the final 5 1/3 innings Monday.
End 4th, Red Sox 2-0: Jon Lester is through four shutout innings, and the Red Sox' starters have now given up only a Carlos Pena solo home run in their last 26 innings pitched. All that against two teams ranked in the top three in their respective leagues in runs scored. Pretty darn impressive.
Lester has had three awkward landings after pitches in this one already. One came during an at bat which resulted in a walk, the second during another which resulted in the Rays' first hit, a single by Willy Aybar in the fourth.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 2-0: James Shields has an every-other-inning kind of thing going on right now. In the first and third he allowed two runs on four hits and three walks. He has retired all six he has faced in the second and fourth, striking out the side in the latter of the two.
End 3rd, Red Sox 2-0: Jon Lester walked his third man of the game during an at bat in which he had an awkward landing on the mound. He looked very impressive therafter, fanning Carl Crawford on a nasty cutter and Ben Zobrist on an even nastier one.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 2-0: Remember when the David Ortiz-Manny Ramirez pairing acted like a road block to opposing pitchers? The Kevin Youkilis-Ortiz duo, while one spot further down the lineup, has acted very much the same this month.
After a two-out single through the defensive shift for J.D. Drew, Youkilis draws his 26th walk in May and Ortiz rips a double into the gap to record RBIs 21 and 22 of the month.
James Shields had retired six straight before the two-out rally.
End 2nd, 0-0: Jon Lester has none of the issues he had in the first in cruising through the second, although a dazzling play by third baseman Adrian Beltre helps him out.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: Mike Cameron's first at bat since April 18 results in a long fly to the corner in left, where Carl Crawford makes a running catch right next to the foul pole. The Sox go in order in the second.
End 1st, 0-0: Some early control problems for Jon Lester do not do much damage, aside from run up his pitch count a bit. He walks the first two batters and goes to a three-ball count to the third before retiring three straight.
We were just given some unsettling news on Jacoby Ellsbury. Contrary to earlier reports, Darnell McDonald was not designated for assignment, but reliever Scott Atchison is. The reason? Ellsbury is still experiencing some pain in his side and the outfield ranks would've been slim if McDonald was let go.
The club made the announcement in the top of the first inning.
Mid 1st, 0-0: The Sox may regret wasting a bases-loaded situation in the first. James Shields has an ERA of 5.19 in his first 30 pitches of games, and a 2.25 mark thereafter.
Marco Scutaro and Dustin Pedroia singled to start the game and David Ortiz drew a two-out walk, just the fourth allowed by Shields in five-plus starts. But Adrian Beltre lines out to left to strand the trio.
7:09 p.m.: James Shields has fanned 45 while walking just three over his last five starts, an unbelievable ratio. He is just 4-7 with a 5.33 ERA against the Sox, however.
6:50 p.m.: First pitch is about 20 minutes away, a perfect time to throw a few Red Sox and Rays stats at you.
- Kevin Youkilis has drawn 25 walks in May, tied for the third most in team history for that month behind Carl Yastrzemski (30 in 1970) and Wade Boggs (28 in 1988).
- Boston's rotation is 5-1 with a 1.64 ERA in the last six games, holding opponents to a .188 (29-for-154) average.
- Jeremy Hermida's 18 two-out RBIs are tied with Texas Rangers designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero for second in the majors.
- The Rays are 10-1 in their last 11 games when the opponent starts a left-hander.
- Tampa Bay is 22-1 when it scores five runs or more.
- The Rays' top four starters (James Shields, Matt Garza, David Price and Jeff Niemann) have made it through at least six innings in 33 of their 36 combined starts, and one of the three in which they didn't Niemann was struck by a line drive and forced to leave early.
6:25 p.m.: We are settling in to get ready for the Sox-Rays, and learned that Josh Beckett has thrown a side session in Florida, which Terry Francona said would be the sign that he is on course to return on time from his lower back strain.
Also, Francona told reporters in St. Pete that Jacoby Ellsbury being out of the lineup is nothing more than a day off. Ellsbury had played three straight games since returning Saturday and was not getting great results at the plate yet.
As for Ellsbury and Mike Cameron, it appears as if Ellsbury will play center field for the time being, and perhaps for a pretty good stretch of time. Cameron may need multiple games off each week with the hernia, and playing him in left will reduce the wear and tear.
4:27 p.m.: Red Sox manager Terry Francona said the club "dodged a bullet" with Victor Martinez, who figures to not miss much time with the bruised toe which knocked him out of Monday's game. However, Martinez is out of Tuesday's starting lineup.
Francona said the catcher could be used in a pinch, but Jason Varitek will be in there to handle Jon Lester. Elsewhere in the lineup we see the return of Mike Cameron, but a day off for Jacoby Ellsbury, so that day when every starter is healthy and playing remains elusive. It should come soon.
Here are the complete lineups for both teams:
Marco Scutaro SS
Dustin Pedroia 2B
J.D. Drew RF
Kevin Youkilis 1B
David Ortiz DH
Adrian Beltre 3B
Jeremy Hermida LF
Jason Varitek C
Mike Cameron RF
Rays
Jason Bartlett SS
Carl Crawford LF
Ben Zobrist 2B
Evan Longoria 3B
Willy Aybar DH
Carlos Pena 1B
B.J. Upton CF
Dioner Navarro C
Gabe Kapler RF
And here is some more information on the lineups and matchups for game No. 2 of the set.
8 a.m.: Jon Lester seeks his fifth straight win when he leads the Red Sox into the second of three games against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.
Behind Clay Buchholz's quality outing in Monday's opener, the Sox pulled to within 7 1/2 games of the Rays in the American League East. It was the sixth win in seven games for Boston and put the club four games above .500 for the first time in 2010.
Lester is 4-0 with a 1.64 ERA in his last six starts. His last rough outing came April 18 at home against Tampa Bay, which reached the lefty for seven runs in six innings.
James Shields toes the slab for the Rays, who had won eight of nine before Monday's loss.
First pitch is 7:10 p.m.
