Final, Red Sox 8-0: Mark Melancon seals the deal with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
After Jesus Feliciano grounded out to begin the frame, Melancon struck out both Keith Castillo and Jeff Salazar to end the game.
Cody Ross got the offense going for Boston in the second inning when he blasted a three-run shot. The Sox would later tack on some more runs when Rays pitching completely fell apart, but the Sox didn't really need them.
Josh Beckett tossed five scoreless innings to begin the game, striking out five and walking three in the process. He allowed just one hit. Scott Atchison, Franklin Morales and Mark Melancon then sealed the deal with four shoutout frames of their own.
Bottom 8th, Red Sox 8-0: The Sox nearly pushed across another run, but Ryan Lavarnway was gunned down at the plate to end the inning.
Lavarnway reached on a walk to lead off the inning, and later advanced to second on a ground out by Kelly Shoppach. Ryan Sweeney then singled to right, after which Lavarnway tried to score. Jeff Salazar came up firing, though, and gunned Lavarnway down at the plate.
We'll head to the ninth with the Sox in complete control. It looks like it'll be Melancon coming back out to try and finish this one off.
Mid 8th, Red Sox 8-0: Another quick inning for Boston pitching.
Morales came back out for the eighth and quickly retired Desmond Jennings and Chris Gimenez on fly outs. Then, Mark Melancon replaced him, and retired Elliot Johnson on a ground out to second.
We head to the bottom half of the frame with the Sox looking to pile it on.
Bottom 7th, Red Sox 8-0: The Red Sox put up a four-spot in the eighth.
Cody Ross walked to begin the inning, and Kelly Shoppach followed up with a base hit, putting runners at first and second for Boston.
Ryan Sweeney then lined out to center, and Ross was doubled off second, which looked to be a rally killer for the time being. However, Brandon Gomes completely lost control from there, walking Nate Spears, Jason Repko and Dustin Pedroia consecutively to force in Boston's fifth run of the game.
Jhonny Nunez then took over in an attempt to minimize the damage, but he too showed a lack of control. Nunez threw a wild pitch that allowed Spears to score the sixth Boston run of the game, and then gave up a base hit to Mauro Gomez that allowed two more runs to come in.
Mid 7th, Red Sox 4-0: Scott Atchison came back out for the seventh, and he retired the only two hitters he faced in the inning.
Atchison got Jeff Salazar to ground out to second, and then Sean Rodriguez struck out swinging.
The Sox then turned to Franklin Morales, and the lefty gave up a double to Jose Labaton before retiring Will Rhymes on a ground out.
Bottom 6th, Red Sox 4-0: Dustin Pedroia added his sixth RBI of the spring, unloading a triple to left field that drove in Jacoby Ellsbury.
Pedroia is heating up after cracking a home run yesterday. Guess it's about that time, right?
Ellbury's wise baserunning also helped open it up. He noticed the Rays' outfielder's lackluster approach and turned a single into a double.
Mid 6th, Red Sox 3-0: Scott Atchison came in to replace Josh Beckett and fed off that momentum, tossing a scoreless inning with a strikeout.
Josh Beckett threw five innings, allowed just one hit and walked three batters to go along with five strikeouts. He threw 84 pitches, 49 for strikes.
Bottom 5th, Red Sox 3-0: Jake McGee replaces Burke Badenhop to become the fourth Rays' pitcher to throw in this game.
Ryan Sweeney grounded into a double play, dropping his average to .185 for the spring.
Mid 5th, Red Sox 3-0: You turn your head for one second and the inning is over. That's how efficient and effective Josh Beckett has been so far.
He got Jose Lobaton to groundout to second, Will Rhymes to pop out to shortstop and had Desmond Jennings fly out.
Bottom 4th, Red Sox 3-0: The Red Sox also snuck another run past the Rays in the fourth inning.
After Adrian Gonzalez singled to start the inning, Rays pitcher Burke Badenhop tossed a wild pitch and then Jose Lobaton allowed a passed ball, which allowed Gonzalez to advance to third.
But David Ortiz struck out swinging and Cody Ross flew out to deep center field.
Mid 4th, Red Sox 3-0: Josh Beckett keeps on dazzling. This is exactly where he'd like to be heading into the regular season.
He got two more groundouts and struck out Sean Rodriguez to get a 1-2-3 inning. If — and most likely he will — gets another start, expect him to throw a shorter outing.
This may be his last extended time out there before he rests up for the second game in Detroit.
Bottom 3rd, Red Sox 3-0: If you haven't noticed by now, the Rays have taken the unorthodox approach of starting the game with relievers.
Fernando Rodney and Joel Peralta each tossed an inning. In the third, Burke Badenhop took over and we'll see if he lasts longer than an inning.
Also, here's an update on Carl Crawford and how he is likely to start the year on the disabled list.
Mid 3rd, Red Sox 3-0: Josh Beckett has looked excellent thus far, tossing three scoreless innings. It's been a good stretch for Sox pitchers so far, with Jon Lester notching 10 strikeouts on Tuesday.
Beckett punched out Carlos Pena on a strikeout and retired Will Rhymes and Matt Joyce on grounders.
Desmond Jennings only got a single off of Beckett. Even though the team didn't capitalize, Jennings is a frontrunner for the rookie of the year, so keep that name in mind.
Bottom 2nd, Red Sox 3-0: Cody Ross is showcasing that "Fenway swing" all over again, belting a pitch over the Green Monster for a three-run shot.
Kevin Youkilis' patient plate discipline helped start it off as he drew a walk. David Ortiz continued his hot stretch, slugging a double to have runners in scoring position.
Then Ross took care of the rest, hitting his fourth homer of the spring. A nice start for him.
Mid 2nd, 0-0: Beckett walked Carlos Pena and Jeff Keppinger to start the inning, which looked like it was a barrage waiting to happen.
But Beckett rebounded nicely. After a sac bunt, the hurler fanned Sean Rodriguez and Jose Lobaton in consecutive at-bats. That ability to get out of trouble will always be imperative to any pitching staff.
Bottom 1st, 0-0: Dustin Pedroia was caught with his hand in the cookie jar — also known as he got caught stealing.
After getting a base on balls, Pedroia speed to second, but was thrown out by Jose Lobaton.
Mike Aviles celebrated his big nod, earning the starting shortstop spot, by hitting a liner to Sean Rodriguez. Just a quick inning, though.
Mid 1st, 0-0: Josh Beckett's off to a strong start. He forced Jennings to pop out and struck out Matt Joyce.
Ben Zobrist had good contact with one of Beckett's pitches and it appeared to be primed to soar over the Green Monster, but plopped down in the warning track.
Also, the Red Sox announced a quick mistake they made with the lineup and said Jarrod Saltalamacchia — not Shoppach –will be hitting eighth and Ryan Sweeney will be hitting ninth.
1:15 p.m.: Here are the lineups.
Red Sox
Mike Aviles, SS
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Cody Ross, LF
Jarrod Saltalmacchia, C
Ryan Sweeney, RF
Josh Beckett, P
Rays
Desmond Jennings, DH
Matt Joyce, RF
Ben Zobrist, 2B
Carlos Pena, 1B
Jeff Keppinger, 3B
Jeff Salazar, CF
Sean Rodriguez, SS
Jose Lobaton, C
Will Rhymes, LF
Fernando Rodney, P
12 p.m. EST: The Red Sox are throwing Josh Beckett out on the hill against the Rays in one of the hurler’s last starts of the spring. In his last outing against the Orioles, Beckett tossed five innings, yielding two hits and one runs.
Tampa Bay originally had James Shields in place to start. But the team shifted its plans –– and didn't want AL East rival to get too comfortable with seeing Shields –– and elected to start Fernando Rodney in his place.
In the spring training, Rodney is 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA while Beckett is 1-0 and boasts a 1.29 ERA. Newly-crowned starting shortstop Mike Aviles will lead off for the Red Sox in the showdown.
