Seventh-inning surge powers Devil Rays past Red Sox <h3>TAMPA BAY 5, BOSTON 2</h3>ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays tookout a week's worth of frustration in one inning. Locked in a scoreless battle with the Boston Red Sox, the DevilRays hit three home runs in the seventh inning en route to a 5-2victory Sunday. Home runs by Dioner Navarro, B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena and asolid performance from starter Scott Kazmir allowed Tampa Bay toend an eight-game losing streak. Kazmir and relievers Scott Dohmann and Gary Glover (4-3) shutout the Red Sox until two outs in the eighth when Glover allowedback-to-back homers to Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis. Navarro started Tampa Bay's five-run outburst in the seventh,homering to right field on an 0-2 pitch from Daisuke Matsuzaka(12-8). Matsuzaka, who defeated the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, wasbidding to win consecutive road starts for the first time sinceMay 9 and May 24. Following Navarro's home run, Josh Wilson singled to left,knocking Matsuzaka out of the game. Manny Delcarmen got AkinoriIwamura to ground into a fielders' choice, but then allowed asingle to Brendan Harris and back-to-back home runs to Upton andPena. Matsuzaka had not allowed a run in 13 1/3 innings untilNavarro's home run. Kazmir, who had won his last two home starts, left after sixshutout innings and did not figure in the decision. Thelefthander scattered six hits while striking out eight andwalking one. Through the first six innings, Kazmir and Matsuzaka kept bothoffenses in check. Both teams had scoring opportunities, butcouldn't break through. The Red Sox stranded five through sixand the Devil Rays six. Dohmann relieved Kazmir in the seventh and walked two. Withrunners at first and third and two outs, Glover coaxed JulioLugo into a ground out to third. The Devil Rays, who own the worst record in the majors, stillhave 12 games remaining against the Red Sox in their next 51contests. Dustin Pedroia, Wily Mo Pena and Youkilis had two hits each forthe Red Sox, who were limited to eight hits. The Devil Rays' eight-game losing streak was all againstAmerican League East opponents. The Devil Rays' next six gamesare also against division foes - Toronto (July 30-Aug. 1) andBaltimore (Aug. 3-5). The Red Sox had won eight of their past nine games.
AL: BOSTON at TAMPA BAY <div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BOSTON (2) AT TAMPA BAY (5) - EVENT LOG ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Boston Starting Lineups -- J Lugo SS, D Pedroia 2B, D Ortiz DH, M Ramirez LF, K Youkilis 1B, M Lowell 3B, C Crisp CF, W Pena RF, D Mirabelli C, D Matsuzaka RHP. Tampa Bay Starting Lineups -- A Iwamura 3B, B Harris SS, B Upton CF, C Pena 1B, D Young RF, J Gomes LF, G Norton DH, D Navarro C, J Wilson 2B, S Kazmir LHP. Umpires -- Adrian Johnson (HP), Bruce Froemming (1B), Brian Runge (2B), Mark Wegner (3B). Gametime Weather: INDOORS. BOSTON 1ST: J Lugo singled to center. D Pedroia singled to left center, J Lugo to second. D Ortiz grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, D Pedroia out at second, J Lugo to third. M Ramirez grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 1ST: A Iwamura singled to right. B Harris fouled out to catcher. B Upton struck out swinging. A Iwamura caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. BOSTON 2ND: K Youkilis reached on infield single to pitcher. M Lowell popped out to second. C Crisp flied out to right. W Pena singled to left, K Youkilis to second. D Mirabelli struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 2ND: C Pena doubled to right. D Young struck out swinging. J Gomes hit by pitch. G Norton flied out to left. D Navarro reached on infield single to shortstop, C Pena to third, J Gomes to second. J Wilson grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. BOSTON 3RD: J Lugo struck out looking. D Pedroia singled to right. D Ortiz grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, D Pedroia out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 3RD: A Iwamura singled to center. B Harris walked, A Iwamura to second. B Upton lined into double play, to first, B Harris doubled off first. C Pena struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. BOSTON 4TH: M Ramirez flied out to center. K Youkilis struck out swinging. M Lowell walked. C Crisp struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 4TH: D Young flied out to right. J Gomes singled to left. G Norton grounded out to second, J Gomes to second. D Navarro struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. BOSTON 5TH: W Pena doubled to deep right. D Mirabelli sacrificed to first, W Pena to third. J Lugo struck out swinging. D Pedroia struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 5TH: J Wilson doubled to deep left center. A Iwamura lined out to right. B Harris flied out to center, J Wilson to third. B Upton grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. BOSTON 6TH: D Ortiz grounded out to third. M Ramirez struck out swinging. K Youkilis struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 6TH: C Pena struck out looking. D Young grounded out to shortstop. J Gomes struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. BOSTON 7TH: S Dohmann relieved S Kazmir. M Lowell grounded out to third. C Crisp walked. W Pena grounded out to second, C Crisp to second. C Crisp stole third. D Mirabelli walked. G Glover relieved S Dohmann. J Lugo grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 0. TAMPA BAY 7TH: G Norton lined out to first. D Navarro homered to right. J Wilson singled to left. M Delcarmen relieved D Matsuzaka. A Iwamura grounded into fielder's choice to third, J Wilson out at second. B Harris singled to left, A Iwamura to second. B Upton homered to left, A Iwamura and B Harris scored. C Pena homered to right. D Young struck out swinging. (5 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 0, TAMPA BAY 5. BOSTON 8TH: D Pedroia grounded out to first. D Ortiz struck out swinging. M Ramirez homered to left. K Youkilis homered to left. M Lowell struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 2, TAMPA BAY 5. TAMPA BAY 8TH: J Tavarez relieved M Delcarmen. J Gomes struck out swinging. G Norton grounded out to second. D Navarro singled to left. J Wilson grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, D Navarro out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) BOSTON 2, TAMPA BAY 5. BOSTON 9TH: C Crawford in left field. C Crisp flied out to right. J Varitek hit for W Pena. J Varitek walked. J Drew hit for D Mirabelli. J Drew struck out swinging. J Lugo grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, J Varitek out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) BOSTON 2, TAMPA BAY 5.</div>
Seventh-inning surge powers Devil Rays past Red Sox <h3>TAMPA BAY 5, BOSTON 2</h3>ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) - The Tampa Bay Devil Rays tookout a week's worth of frustration in one inning. Locked in a scoreless battle with the Boston Red Sox, the DevilRays hit three home runs in the seventh inning and cruised to a5-2 victory Sunday. Home runs by Dioner Navarro, B.J. Upton and Carlos Pena and asolid performance from starter Scott Kazmir allowed Tampa Bay toend an eight-game losing streak. "Was it eight games?" Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon asked. "I'vehad enough of those. It's about time we had some eight-gamewin streaks." Kazmir and relievers Scott Dohmann and Gary Glover (4-3) shutout the Red Sox until two outs in the eighth when Glover allowedback-to-back homers to Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis. Navarro started Tampa Bay's five-run outburst in the seventh,homering to right field on an 0-2 pitch from Daisuke Matsuzaka(12-8). "He had a real nice game, his home run really took off," Maddonsaid. "He also had a nice day behind the plate." Matsuzaka, who defeated the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, wasbidding to win consecutive road starts for the first time sinceMay 9 and May 24. "Dice-K was good today, he off speed was sharp all day," Bostonmanager Terry Francona said. "The game got away more then wewanted it to in the seventh and it hurt." Following Navarro's home run, Josh Wilson singled to left,knocking Matsuzaka out of the game. Manny Delcarmen got AkinoriIwamura to ground into a fielders' choice, but then allowed asingle to Brendan Harris and back-to-back home runs to Upton andPena. Matsuzaka had not allowed a run in 13 1/3 innings untilNavarro's home run. "It feels good for me because was a team we had to step up,"Navarro said. Kazmir, who had won his last two home starts, left after sixshutout innings and did not figure in the decision. Thelefthander scattered six hits while striking out eight andwalking one. "My slider was biting the way I wanted," Kazmir said. "It'stotally different when you don't need to worry about yourmechanics during your windup." Through the first six innings, Kazmir and Matsuzaka kept bothoffenses in check. Both teams had scoring opportunities, butcouldn't break through. The Red Sox stranded five through sixand the Devil Rays six. "What I'm seeing from Kazmir is good tempo and delivery," Maddonsaid. "I'm seeing better control and command." Dohmann relieved Kazmir in the seventh and walked two. Withrunners at first and third and two outs, Glover coaxed JulioLugo into a groundout to third. The Devil Rays, who own the worst record in the majors, stillhave 12 games remaining against the Red Sox in their next 51contests. "When our lineup is unable to produce runs, my job is to holdthe other team to zero runs," Matsuzaka said. Dustin Pedroia, Wily Mo Pena and Youkilis had two hits each forthe Red Sox, who were limited to eight hits. All-Star Carl Crawford, who injured his right wrist attemptingto make a diving catch Friday, came in the ninth as a defensivereplacement. However, Crawford said his wrist still hurts thathe can't grip a bat and will undergo an MRI Monday. The Devil Rays' eight-game losing streak was all againstAmerican League East opponents. The Devil Rays' next six gamesare also against division foes - Toronto (July 30-Aug. 1) andBaltimore (Aug. 3-5). The Red Sox had won eight of their past nine games. "We were kind of living on the edge a couple of innings,"Boston's Mike Lowell said. "We wanted to finish the series(sweep) but we ran into a guy today with good stuff." The Devil Rays optioned reliever Jae Kuk Ryu to the minors tomake room for Dan Wheeler, who was traded to Tampa Bay fromHouston Saturday.
