GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: TAMPA BAY (61-84) at BOSTON (88-58)

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TAMPA BAY 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 9 0
BOSTON 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 9 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: TAM - EDWIN JACKSON, GARY GLOVER (7TH), DAN WHEELER (8TH), AL REYES
(9TH) AND DIONER NAVARRO

BOS - JON LESTER, JULIAN TAVAREZ (4TH), MANNY DELCARMEN
(7TH), HIDEKI OKAJIMA (8TH), JONATHAN PAPELBON (9TH) AND JASON
VARITEK


WP - JONATHAN PAPELBON (1-2)
LP - AL REYES (2-3)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: TAM - B.J. UPTON (24) OFF JON LESTER IN THE 1ST, 1 ON

BOS - DAVID ORTIZ (30) OFF EDWIN JACKSON IN THE 3RD, 2 ON
DAVID ORTIZ (31) OFF AL REYES IN THE 9TH, 1 ON


TIME: 3:26 ATT: 36,931

PROBABLES: NYY - ANDY PETTITTE (13-8, 3.78)
BOS - DAISUKE MATSUZAKA (14-12, 4.44)

PROBABLES: TAM - JASON HAMMEL (2-4, 6.57)
SEA - JEFF WEAVER (6-12, 6.05)</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">TAMPA BAY (4) VS BOSTON (5) - FINAL

TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 4 1 0 0 1 2 2 .285
C Crawford lf 5 0 1 0 0 1 1 .311
C Pena 1b 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 .279
B Upton cf 5 1 2 2 0 1 1 .310
D Young rf 4 0 1 0 1 0 2 .295
B Harris 2b 4 1 2 0 0 0 3 .284
J Gomes dh 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .244
a-G Norton ph-dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .220
D Navarro c 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 .228
J Wilson ss 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 .279

Totals 36 4 9 4 5 7 16

a-grounded to pitcher for J Gomes in the 7th.

BATTING: 2B - B Harris (34, J Lester). HR - B Upton (24, 1st inning off J
Lester 1 on, 1 Out). RBI - C Pena (110), B Upton 2 (78), J Gomes (42). 2-out
RBI - J Gomes. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Crawford 1, B Harris
1, J Wilson 1, D Young 1, A Iwamura 1. Team LOB - 10.

BASERUNNING: SB - J Gomes (10, 3rd base off J Lester/J Varitek).

FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Pena).


BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 4 2 1 0 1 0 1 .241
D Pedroia 2b 4 1 2 0 1 1 1 .327
D Ortiz dh 5 2 2 5 0 0 2 .321
K Youkilis 3b 3 0 0 0 1 2 1 .287
J Drew rf 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 .263
J Varitek c 4 0 0 0 0 2 6 .258
B Moss lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .222
C Crisp cf 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .272
E Hinske 1b 4 0 0 0 0 2 4 .216

Totals 33 5 9 5 6 9 16

BATTING: 2B - B Moss (1, E Jackson); J Drew (27, E Jackson). HR - D Ortiz 2
(31, 3rd inning off E Jackson 2 on, 0 Out, 9th inning off Al Reyes 1 on, 1
Out). RBI - D Ortiz 5 (104). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E Hinske
2, J Varitek 2, J Lugo 1, B Moss 1. Team LOB - 9.

BASERUNNING: SB - J Lugo (29, 2nd base off E Jackson/D Navarro), C Crisp (25,
2nd base off E Jackson/D Navarro).


----------------------------------------------------
TAMPA BAY - 400 000 000 -- 4
BOSTON - 003 000 002 -- 5

One out when winning run scored.
----------------------------------------------------

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
E Jackson 6 8 3 3 3 6 1 5.94
G Glover (H, 9) 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 5.22
D Wheeler (H, 10) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 5.50
Al Reyes (L, 2-3; B, 3) 1/3 1 2 2 1 0 1 4.91

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Lester 3 2/3 8 4 4 4 5 1 4.86
J Tavarez 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 4.97
M Delcarmen 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.39
H Okajima 1/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.75
J Papelbon (W, 1-2) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.52

Pitches-strikes: E Jackson 104-62; G Glover 17-6; D Wheeler 18-12; Al Reyes
15-7; J Lester 93-55; J Tavarez 39-24; M Delcarmen 12-8; H Okajima 7-5; J
Papelbon 15-11. Ground balls-fly balls: E Jackson 5-6; G Glover 1-1; D Wheeler
0-1; Al Reyes 0-1; J Lester 3-3; J Tavarez 6-2; M Delcarmen 3-0; H Okajima 0-0;
J Papelbon 2-1. Batters faced: E Jackson 28; G Glover 5; D Wheeler 3; Al Reyes
3; J Lester 23; J Tavarez 10; M Delcarmen 4; H Okajima 1; J Papelbon 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Greg Gibson. 1B--Larry Vanover. 2B--Chad Fairchild. 3B--Tony
Randazzo.

T--3:26. Att--36,931.
Weather: 70 degrees, clear. Wind: 9 mph, left to
right.</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
TAMPA BAY 4
BOSTON 5 FINAL</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAMPA BAY (4) AT BOSTON (5) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TAMPA BAY 1ST: A Iwamura walked. C Crawford grounded out to first,
A Iwamura to second. C Pena singled to center, A Iwamura scored. B Upton
homered to right, C Pena scored. D Young grounded out to second. B Harris
doubled to right. J Gomes singled to center, B Harris scored. D Navarro
walked, J Gomes to second. J Gomes stole third. J Wilson struck out swinging.
(4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 3RD: J Lugo singled to right. J Lugo stole second. D Pedroia
walked. D Ortiz homered to right, J Lugo and D Pedroia scored. K Youkilis
struck out swinging. J Drew doubled to right. J Varitek struck out swinging.
B Moss struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 9TH: Al Reyes relieved D Wheeler. J Lugo walked. D Pedroia flied
out to left. D Ortiz homered to right, J Lugo scored. (2 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 5.</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAMPA BAY (4) AT BOSTON (5) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tampa Bay Starting Lineups -- A Iwamura 3B, C Crawford LF, C Pena 1B, B Upton CF,
D Young RF, B Harris 2B, J Gomes DH, D Navarro C, J Wilson SS, E Jackson RHP.

Boston Starting Lineups -- J Lugo SS, D Pedroia 2B, D Ortiz DH, K Youkilis 3B,
J Drew RF, J Varitek C, B Moss LF, C Crisp CF, E Hinske 1B, J Lester LHP.

Umpires -- Greg Gibson (HP), Larry Vanover (1B), Chad Fairchild (2B),
Tony Randazzo (3B).

Gametime Weather: 70 degrees, Clear, wind left to right at 9 mph.


TAMPA BAY 1ST: A Iwamura walked. C Crawford grounded out to first,
A Iwamura to second. C Pena singled to center, A Iwamura scored. B Upton
homered to right, C Pena scored. D Young grounded out to second. B Harris
doubled to right. J Gomes singled to center, B Harris scored. D Navarro
walked, J Gomes to second. J Gomes stole third. J Wilson struck out swinging.
(4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 1ST: J Lugo flied out to center. D Pedroia singled to left center.
D Ortiz lined into double play, to first, D Pedroia doubled off first. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 0.

TAMPA BAY 2ND: A Iwamura struck out swinging. C Crawford singled to left.
C Pena struck out swinging. B Upton singled to left, C Crawford to second.
D Young flied out to center. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 2ND: K Youkilis flied out to right. J Drew singled to right.
J Varitek lined out to shortstop. B Moss doubled to deep center, J Drew to
third. C Crisp walked. E Hinske grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 0.

TAMPA BAY 3RD: B Harris singled to left center. J Gomes struck out
swinging. D Navarro walked, B Harris to second. J Wilson flied out to right.
A Iwamura struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 3RD: J Lugo singled to right. J Lugo stole second. D Pedroia
walked. D Ortiz homered to right, J Lugo and D Pedroia scored. K Youkilis
struck out swinging. J Drew doubled to right. J Varitek struck out swinging.
B Moss struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 3.

TAMPA BAY 4TH: C Crawford lined out to left. C Pena walked. B Upton
grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, C Pena out at second. D Young
singled to right, B Upton to third. J Tavarez relieved J Lester. B Harris
grounded into fielder's choice to third, D Young out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 4TH: C Crisp lined out to shortstop. E Hinske grounded out to
first. J Lugo grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4,
BOSTON 3.

TAMPA BAY 5TH: J Gomes lined out to right. D Navarro grounded out to
second. J Wilson grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4,
BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 5TH: D Pedroia reached on infield single to second. D Ortiz
grounded into fielder's choice to second, D Pedroia out at second. K Youkilis
struck out swinging. J Drew walked, D Ortiz to second. J Varitek struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 3.

TAMPA BAY 6TH: A Iwamura grounded out to second. C Crawford popped out to
shortstop. C Pena grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 6TH: B Moss flied out to left. C Crisp singled to right. E Hinske
struck out swinging, C Crisp stole second. J Lugo grounded out to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 3.

TAMPA BAY 7TH: B Upton struck out swinging. D Young walked. B Harris
grounded into fielder's choice to third, D Young out at second. M Delcarmen
relieved J Tavarez. G Norton hit for J Gomes. G Norton grounded out to pitcher.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 7TH: G Glover relieved E Jackson. D Pedroia struck out swinging.
D Ortiz lined out to first. K Youkilis walked. J Drew walked, K Youkilis to
second. J Varitek grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4,
BOSTON 3.

TAMPA BAY 8TH: D Navarro grounded out to third. J Wilson singled to right.
A Iwamura grounded out to pitcher, J Wilson to second. H Okajima relieved
M Delcarmen. C Crawford struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4,
BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 8TH: D Wheeler relieved G Glover. B Moss flied out to center. C Crisp
struck out swinging. E Hinske struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 3.

TAMPA BAY 9TH: J Papelbon relieved H Okajima. C Pena grounded out to first.
B Upton fouled out to catcher. D Young grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 3.

BOSTON 9TH: Al Reyes relieved D Wheeler. J Lugo walked. D Pedroia flied
out to left. D Ortiz homered to right, J Lugo scored. (2 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 4, BOSTON 5.</div>

 

Ortiz plays the hero as Red Sox walk off with a win

<h3>BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 4</h3>BOSTON (Ticker) -- The game isn't over until Big Papihits.


David Ortiz hit a walk-off two-run blast in the ninth inning togive the Boston Red Sox a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay DevilRays on Wednesday.


The All-Star slugger accounted for all five of his team's runsWednesday, hitting a three-run homer in the third as well. Henow has 31 blasts on the season.


Boston looked down and out going into the bottom of the ninth,but Julio Lugo drew a walk off Devil Rays closer Al Reyes (2-3)to open the frame. After Dustin Pedroia flied out to left fieldfor the first out, Ortiz stepped to the plate.


Ortiz worked the count to 3-1 before lifting a fly ball to deepright field that landed in the first row of seats. Tampa Bayright fielder Delmon Young took a circuitous route to the balland could not get back to the wall in time to make the catch.

The blast was the the 13th regular-season walk-off homer forOrtiz as a member of the Red Sox (89-58) and ensured the club afive-game lead over the New York Yankees (83-62) in the AmericanLeague East heading into their three-game series this weekend.

Ortiz's heroics prevented the Devil Rays from capturing theirfirst series victory here since 1999.


The Devil Rays jump out early on Boston starter Jon Lester,scoring all of their runs in the opening frame. Akinori Iwamurawalked to begin the frame and moved to second when CarlCrawford grounded out.


Carlos Pena followed with a single to drive in the game's firstrun, bringing B.J. Upton to the plate. The 23-year-old cleanuphitter sliced Lester's first offering down the right field linewhere it glanced off "Pesky's Pole" just 301 feet away.

It was the 24th homer of the year for Upton, who is enjoying astellar first full season in the majors.


Tampa Bay tacked on one more run when Johnny Gomes singled tobring in Brendan Harris for a 4-0 lead.


Edwin Jackson turned in a great start for Tampa Bay after cominginto Wednesday's contest having allowed 13 earned runs over hislast two starts, spanning just nine innings.


He had no such struggle against Boston, limiting an offense thatput 16 runs and 20 hits on the board Tuesday to three runs andeight hits in six frames. Jackson walked three and struck outsix.


Lester was pulled after just 3 2/3 frames and charged with fourruns and eight hits while walking four and striking out five.

Closer Jonathan Papelbon (1-2) picked up his first win of theseason with a scoreless ninth inning.

 

Ortiz plays the hero as Red Sox walk off with a win

<h3>BOSTON 5, TAMPA BAY 4</h3>BOSTON (Ticker) -- The game isn't over until Big Papi swings.David Ortiz hit a walk-off two-run blast in the ninth inning togive the Boston Red Sox a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay DevilRays on Wednesday.


The All-Star slugger accounted for all five of his team's runsWednesday, hitting a three-run homer in the third as well. Henow has 31 blasts on the season.


Boston looked down and out going into the bottom of the ninth,but Julio Lugo drew a walk off Devil Rays closer Al Reyes (2-3)to open the frame. After Dustin Pedroia flied out to left fieldfor the first out, Ortiz stepped to the plate.


Ortiz worked the count to 3-1 before lifting a fly ball to deepright field that landed in the first row of seats.

"I thought it was too high," Ortiz said. "That was a good pitchby Reyes, but I put a good swing on it. It looked like acutter in. ... That's a pitch that you throw to guys who youdon't want to get extended (arms).


"Wind was kind of crazy tonight but it worked the right way."

Tampa Bay right fielder Delmon Young took a circuitous route tothe ball and could not get back to the wall in time to make thecatch.


"I didn't go with the wind," Young said. "I had a chance if Istayed on the line. But it went towards the back part of thecurve (of the wall). You're just trying to go catch it, justtrying to go catch it. But he hit it good enough to get out,because he's really strong and got it into the jet stream, andjust got over."


The blast was the the 13th regular-season walk-off homer forOrtiz as a member of the Red Sox (89-58) and ensured the club afive-game lead over the New York Yankees (83-62) in the AmericanLeague East heading into their three-game series this weekend.

"It's not just the walk-off, it's the situation we're facingright now," Ortiz said. "They (Yankees) have been playingreally good and you lose this game and then they win (Thursday)and it changes the whole thing. The way they've been playing,you want to be sure you win some games."


<div class="pre">"It's that time of year and I think he's definitely one of the</div>guys," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "He had good swingsall night. He lined out a couple of times, he hit thethree-run homer, that was up to that point our only offense.And he was seeing the ball real well."


Ortiz's heroics prevented the Devil Rays from capturing theirfirst series victory here since 1999.


"They've done it for years," Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said."Mo Vaughn used to do it for them. Now it's Papi doing it forthem. And I've witnessed it in the past."


The Devil Rays jumped out early on Boston starter Jon Lester,scoring all of their runs in the opening frame. Akinori Iwamurawalked to begin the frame and moved to second when CarlCrawford grounded out.


Carlos Pena followed with a single to drive in the game's firstrun, bringing B.J. Upton to the plate. The 23-year-old cleanuphitter sliced Lester's first offering down the right field linewhere it glanced off "Pesky's Pole" just 301 feet away.

It was the 24th homer of the year for Upton, who is enjoying astellar first full season in the majors.


Tampa Bay tacked on one more run when Johnny Gomes singled tobring in Brendan Harris for a 4-0 lead.


Edwin Jackson turned in a great start for Tampa Bay after cominginto Wednesday's contest having allowed 13 earned runs over hislast two starts, spanning just nine innings.


He had no such struggle against Boston, limiting an offense thatput 16 runs and 20 hits on the board Tuesday to three runs andeight hits in six frames.


"My job as a starter is to go out and give the team a chance towin," Jackson said. "Regardless of how pretty or how bad itlooks. You go out just to keep the team in the game."

Jackson walked three and struck out six.


Lester was pulled after just 3 2/3 frames and charged with fourruns and eight hits while walking four and striking out five.

Closer Jonathan Papelbon (1-2) picked up his first win of theseason with a scoreless ninth inning.


"We have the make-up and the ballclub that you're going to haveto get 27 outs with the lead to beat us and that's a big thingfor us now going into this series, kind of setting thatstatement that this ballgame ain't over until you get those 27outs against us," Papelbon said.