GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: TAMPA BAY (45-72) at BOSTON (70-47)

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: TAM - GARY GLOVER
BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D ORTIZ (.317, 1-FOR-3, RBI)
M RAMIREZ (.290, 0-FOR-3)
J DREW (.262, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">TAMPA BAY (0) VS BOSTON (2) - MID 8TH - IN PROGRESS

TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .287
C Crawford lf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .315
B Upton cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .321
C Pena 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .265
D Young rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .296
B Harris 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .294
J Gomes dh 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 .265
J Wilson ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .278
D Navarro c 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .208

Totals 25 0 2 0 2 6 7

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Young 1. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: SB - C Crawford (38, 2nd base off T Wakefield/D Mirabelli). CS -
D Navarro (1, 2nd base by T Wakefield/D Mirabelli).


BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 4 1 3 1 0 1 0 .238
K Youkilis 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .300
D Ortiz dh 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 .317
M Ramirez lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .290
J Drew cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .262
M Lowell 3b 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .310
A Cora 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .256
D Mirabelli c 2 1 0 0 1 1 2 .206
E Hinske rf 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 .198

Totals 27 2 6 2 2 6 11

BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (37, J Shields); J Lugo (24, J Shields). RBI - D Ortiz
(71), J Lugo (55). 2-out RBI - J Lugo. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out
- M Ramirez 1, J Drew 1, K Youkilis 1. Team LOB - 6.


----------------------------------------------------
TAMPA BAY - 000 000 00 -- 0
BOSTON - 100 000 1 -- 2
----------------------------------------------------

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
J Shields 6 5 1 1 0 5 0 4.22
G Glover 1 1 1 1 2 1 0 5.43

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
T Wakefield 8 2 0 0 2 6 0 4.55

Pitches-strikes: J Shields 106-66; G Glover 27-12; T Wakefield 100-72. Ground
balls-fly balls: J Shields 5-8; G Glover 0-2; T Wakefield 5-12. Batters faced:
J Shields 23; G Glover 6; T Wakefield 27.

UMPIRES: HP--Adam Dowdy. 1B--Fieldin Culbreth. 2B--Paul Schrieber. 3B--Tim
Mcclelland.

Weather: 73 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 6 mph, out to right.</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - PITCHING CHANGE
TAM: GRANT BALFOUR (0-0, 3.37) STARTING THE 8TH
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 2

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D ORTIZ (.317, 1-FOR-3, RBI)</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: G Balfour relieved G Glover.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 0
BOSTON 2 BOTTOM, 8TH

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D Ortiz (.317, 1-FOR-3, RBI)</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MIKE LOWELL SCORED MANNY RAMIREZ.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M LOWELL ON FIRST, J DREW ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 0
BOSTON 3 BOTTOM, 8TH

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: A CORA (.256, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: TAM - GRANT BALFOUR
BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD

DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: A IWAMURA (.287, 0-FOR-2, BB)
C CRAWFORD (.315, 1-FOR-3)
B UPTON (.321, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">TAMPA BAY (0) VS BOSTON (3) - END 8TH - IN PROGRESS

TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .287
C Crawford lf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .315
B Upton cf 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .321
C Pena 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .265
D Young rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .296
B Harris 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .294
J Gomes dh 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 .265
J Wilson ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .278
D Navarro c 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .208

Totals 25 0 2 0 2 6 7

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Young 1. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: SB - C Crawford (38, 2nd base off T Wakefield/D Mirabelli). CS -
D Navarro (1, 2nd base by T Wakefield/D Mirabelli).


BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 4 1 3 1 0 1 0 .238
K Youkilis 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .300
D Ortiz dh 4 0 1 1 0 1 1 .316
M Ramirez lf 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .291
J Drew cf 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .262
M Lowell 3b 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .311
A Cora 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .255
D Mirabelli c 3 1 0 0 1 2 4 .204
E Hinske rf 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 .198

Totals 32 3 8 3 3 7 13

BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (37, J Shields); J Lugo (24, J Shields). RBI - D Ortiz
(71), J Lugo (55), M Lowell (78). 2-out RBI - J Lugo. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - M Ramirez 1, D Mirabelli 2, J Drew 1, K Youkilis 1. Team LOB
- 8.


----------------------------------------------------
TAMPA BAY - 000 000 00 -- 0
BOSTON - 100 000 11 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
J Shields 6 5 1 1 0 5 0 4.22
G Glover 1 1 1 1 2 1 0 5.43
G Balfour 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 4.00

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
T Wakefield 8 2 0 0 2 6 0 4.55

Pitches-strikes: J Shields 106-66; G Glover 27-12; G Balfour 33-19; T
Wakefield 100-72. Ground balls-fly balls: J Shields 5-8; G Glover 0-2; G
Balfour 2-0; T Wakefield 5-12. Batters faced: J Shields 23; G Glover 6; G
Balfour 6; T Wakefield 27.

UMPIRES: HP--Adam Dowdy. 1B--Fieldin Culbreth. 2B--Paul Schrieber. 3B--Tim
Mcclelland.

Weather: 73 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 6 mph, out to right.</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - PITCHING CHANGE
BOS: JONATHAN PAPELBON (0-2, 1.98) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 3

DUE UP FOR TAMPABAY: A IWAMURA (.287, 0-FOR-2)</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">AL AT BOSTON - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Papelbon relieved T Wakefield.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: TAMPA BAY 0
BOSTON 3 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: A Iwamura (.287, 0-FOR-2)</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

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

BATTERIES: TAM - JAMES SHIELDS, GARY GLOVER (7TH), GRANT BALFOUR (8TH) AND
DIONER NAVARRO

BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD, JONATHAN PAPELBON (9TH) AND DOUG
MIRABELLI

HOME RUNS: TAM - NONE

BOS - NONE</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

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

BATTERIES: TAM - JAMES SHIELDS, GARY GLOVER (7TH), GRANT BALFOUR (8TH) AND
DIONER NAVARRO

BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD, JONATHAN PAPELBON (9TH) AND DOUG
MIRABELLI


WP - TIM WAKEFIELD (14-10)
LP - JAMES SHIELDS (9-8)
SAVE - JONATHAN PAPELBON (28)

HOME RUNS: TAM - NONE

BOS - NONE


TIME: 2:43 ATT: 36,808

PROBABLES: TAM - SCOTT KAZMIR (9-7, 3.58)
BOS - JON LESTER (1-0, 6.43)</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">TAMPA BAY (0) VS BOSTON (3) - FINAL

TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 .286
C Crawford lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .314
B Upton cf 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .321
C Pena 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .265
D Young rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .296
B Harris 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .294
J Gomes dh 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 .265
J Wilson ss 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 .278
D Navarro c 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .208

Totals 28 0 2 0 3 8 8

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - C Pena 1, D Young 1. Team
LOB - 4.

BASERUNNING: SB - C Crawford (38, 2nd base off T Wakefield/D Mirabelli). CS -
D Navarro (1, 2nd base by T Wakefield/D Mirabelli).


BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 4 1 3 1 0 1 0 .238
K Youkilis 1b 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 .300
D Ortiz dh 4 0 1 1 0 1 1 .316
M Ramirez lf 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 .291
J Drew cf 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 .262
M Lowell 3b 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .311
A Cora 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .255
D Mirabelli c 3 1 0 0 1 2 4 .204
E Hinske rf 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 .198

Totals 32 3 8 3 3 7 13

BATTING: 2B - D Ortiz (37, J Shields); J Lugo (24, J Shields). RBI - D Ortiz
(71), J Lugo (55), M Lowell (78). 2-out RBI - J Lugo. Runners left in scoring
position, 2 out - M Ramirez 1, D Mirabelli 2, J Drew 1, K Youkilis 1. Team LOB
- 8.


----------------------------------------------------
TAMPA BAY - 000 000 000 -- 0
BOSTON - 100 000 11x -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
J Shields (L, 9-8) 6 5 1 1 0 5 0 4.22
G Glover 1 1 1 1 2 1 0 5.43
G Balfour 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 4.00

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
T Wakefield (W, 14-10) 8 2 0 0 2 6 0 4.55
J Papelbon (S, 28) 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 1.93

Pitches-strikes: J Shields 106-66; G Glover 27-12; G Balfour 33-19; T
Wakefield 100-72; J Papelbon 20-14. Ground balls-fly balls: J Shields 5-8; G
Glover 0-2; G Balfour 2-0; T Wakefield 5-12; J Papelbon 1-0. Batters faced: J
Shields 23; G Glover 6; G Balfour 6; T Wakefield 27; J Papelbon 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Adam Dowdy. 1B--Fieldin Culbreth. 2B--Paul Schrieber. 3B--Tim
Mcclelland.

T--2:43. Att--36,808.
Weather: 73 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 6 mph, out to
right.</div>

 

Wakefield leads Red Sox over Devil Rays

<h3>BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 0</h3>BOSTON (Ticker) -- Tim Wakefield continued his dominance against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Monday as the Boston Red Sox won, 3-0, for their fifth win in their last six games against the Devil Rays.

Wakefield moved to 18-2 lifetime against the Devil Rays as he took a no-hitter through six innings before Carl Crawford ended the bid with a lead off single in the seventh.

Crawford would advance to third, but Wakefield would strand the potential tying run by striking out Delmon Young to end the threat.

The 41-year-old retired nine in a row to begin the game before walking Akinori Iwamura to start the fourth inning. Dioner Navarro walked with one out in the sixth and Johnny Gomes singled in the eighth to represent the only other batters to reach base against Wakefield.

The knuckleballer pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out six. (Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his 28th save of the season.)

The win did not come easy for the Red Sox, as James Shields (9-8) refused to be overshadowed by Wakefield, allowing one run on five hits over six innings. The righthander struck out five without allowing a walk and retired the final eight batters he faced before being lifted in favor of Gary Glover to begin the seventh.

Glover got Alex Cora and Mike Lowell to fly out for the first two outs of the inning, before issuing back-to-back walks to Eric Hinske and Doug Mirabelli. Julio Lugo followed with his third hit of the night, a single that plated Mirabelli, extending the Red Sox lead to two.

Boston would add an insurance run in the eighth when Lowell singled to center, driving in Manny Ramierz, who reached on a base hit with one out in the frame.

The Red Sox opened the scoring in the first inning when David Ortiz's double drove in Lugo, who led off the inning with a single.

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
TAMPA BAY 0
BOSTON 3 FINAL</div>

 

Wakefield leads Red Sox over Devil Rays

<h3>BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 0</h3>BOSTON (Ticker) -- Tim Wakefield continued his dominanceagainst the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.


Wakefield carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning in theBoston Red Sox's 3-0 victory over the Devil Rays on Monday.

While improving to 18-2 lifetime against the Devil Rays,<div class="pre">Wakefield had his no-hitter spoiled when Carl Crawford led off</div>the seventh with a single. Crawford advanced to third, butWakefield stranded the potential tying run by striking outDelmon Young to end the threat.


The 41-year-old retired nine in a row to begin the game beforewalking Akinori Iwamura to start the fourth inning. DionerNavarro walked with one out in the sixth and Johnny Gomessingled in the eighth to represent the only other batters toreach base against Wakefield.


The knuckleballer pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing twohits and two walks while striking out six. Jonathan Papelbonpitched the ninth to pick up his 28th save of the season.

The win did not come easy for the Red Sox, as James Shields(9-8) refused to be overshadowed by Wakefield, allowing one runon five hits over six innings. The righthander struck out fivewithout allowing a walk and retired the final eight batters hefaced before being lifted in favor of Gary Glover to begin theseventh.


Glover got Alex Cora and Mike Lowell to fly out for the firsttwo outs of the inning, before issuing back-to-back walks toEric Hinske and Doug Mirabelli. Julio Lugo followed with histhird hit of the night, a single that plated Mirabelli,extending the Red Sox lead to 2-0.


Boston added an insurance run in the eighth when Lowell singledto center, driving in Manny Ramirez, who reached on a base hitwith one out in the frame.


The Red Sox opened the scoring in the first inning when DavidOrtiz's double drove in Lugo, who led off the inning with asingle.

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAMPA BAY (0) AT BOSTON (3) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOSTON 1ST: J Lugo reached on infield single to first. K Youkilis flied
out to right. D Ortiz doubled to deep center, J Lugo scored. M Ramirez
grounded out to shortstop, D Ortiz to third. J Drew grounded out to first.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 1.

BOSTON 7TH: G Glover relieved J Shields. M Lowell popped out to second.
A Cora flied out to left. D Mirabelli walked. E Hinske walked, D Mirabelli to
second. J Lugo singled to center, D Mirabelli scored, E Hinske to second.
K Youkilis struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 2.

BOSTON 8TH: G Balfour relieved G Glover. D Ortiz grounded out to third.
M Ramirez singled to center. J Drew walked, M Ramirez to second. M Lowell
singled to center, M Ramirez scored, J Drew to second. A Cora grounded out to
first, J Drew to third, M Lowell to second. D Mirabelli struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 3.</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at BOSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAMPA BAY (0) AT BOSTON (3) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Boston Starting Lineups -- J Lugo SS, K Youkilis 1B, D Ortiz DH, M Ramirez LF,
J Drew CF, M Lowell 3B, A Cora 2B, D Mirabelli C, E Hinske RF, T Wakefield RHP.

Umpires -- Adam Dowdy (HP), Fieldin Culbreth (1B), Paul Schrieber (2B),
Tim Mcclelland (3B).

Gametime Weather: 73 degrees, Cloudy, wind out to right at 6 mph.


TAMPA BAY 1ST: A Iwamura flied out to right. C Crawford grounded out to
first. B Upton struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0,
BOSTON 0.

BOSTON 1ST: J Lugo reached on infield single to first. K Youkilis flied
out to right. D Ortiz doubled to deep center, J Lugo scored. M Ramirez
grounded out to shortstop, D Ortiz to third. J Drew grounded out to first.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 1.

TAMPA BAY 2ND: C Pena struck out looking. D Young flied out to center.
B Harris flied out to left. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 1.

BOSTON 2ND: M Lowell flied out to center. A Cora reached on infield single
to shortstop. D Mirabelli lined out to left. E Hinske grounded into fielder's
choice to shortstop, A Cora out at second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0,
BOSTON 1.

TAMPA BAY 3RD: J Gomes struck out swinging. J Wilson flied out to right.
D Navarro fouled out to catcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0,
BOSTON 1.

BOSTON 3RD: J Lugo doubled to center. K Youkilis lined out to second.
D Ortiz struck out swinging. M Ramirez struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 1.

TAMPA BAY 4TH: A Iwamura walked. C Crawford flied out to left. B Upton
flied out to center. C Pena grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 1.

BOSTON 4TH: J Drew flied out to left. M Lowell singled to center. A Cora
flied out to right. D Mirabelli struck out looking. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 1.

TAMPA BAY 5TH: D Young grounded out to shortstop. B Harris grounded out to
third. J Gomes struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0,
BOSTON 1.

BOSTON 5TH: E Hinske struck out swinging. J Lugo struck out swinging.
K Youkilis grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0,
BOSTON 1.

TAMPA BAY 6TH: J Wilson struck out swinging. D Navarro walked. D Navarro
caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. A Iwamura flied out to center.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 1.

BOSTON 6TH: D Ortiz flied out to right. M Ramirez lined out to shortstop.
J Drew grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 1.

TAMPA BAY 7TH: C Crawford singled to right. C Crawford stole second.
B Upton lined out to left. C Pena flied out to center, C Crawford to third.
D Young struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 1.

BOSTON 7TH: G Glover relieved J Shields. M Lowell popped out to second.
A Cora flied out to left. D Mirabelli walked. E Hinske walked, D Mirabelli to
second. J Lugo singled to center, D Mirabelli scored, E Hinske to second.
K Youkilis struck out swinging. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 2.

TAMPA BAY 8TH: B Harris grounded out to shortstop. J Gomes singled to
left. J Wilson flied out to center. D Navarro flied out to right. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 2.

BOSTON 8TH: G Balfour relieved G Glover. D Ortiz grounded out to third.
M Ramirez singled to center. J Drew walked, M Ramirez to second. M Lowell
singled to center, M Ramirez scored, J Drew to second. A Cora grounded out to
first, J Drew to third, M Lowell to second. D Mirabelli struck out swinging.
(1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 3.

TAMPA BAY 9TH: J Papelbon relieved T Wakefield. A Iwamura struck out
swinging. C Crawford struck out swinging. B Upton walked. B Upton to second
on fielder's indifference. C Pena grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0, BOSTON 3.</div>

 

Wakefield leads Red Sox over Devil Rays

<h3>BOSTON 3, TAMPA BAY 0</h3>BOSTON (Ticker) -- Tim Wakefield continued his dominanceagainst the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.


Wakefield carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning in theBoston Red Sox's 3-0 victory over the Devil Rays on Monday.

While improving to 18-2 lifetime against the Devil Rays,<div class="pre">Wakefield had his no-hitter spoiled when Carl Crawford led off</div>the seventh with a single. Crawford advanced to third, butWakefield stranded the potential tying run by striking outDelmon Young to end the threat.


"Probably after five, I knew," Wakefield said when asked if hewas aware of the no-hitter. "It's such a close ballgame andyou're just trying to keep runners off base, especially the topthree guys in the lineup that can run really, really well."

The 41-year-old retired nine in a row to begin the game beforewalking Akinori Iwamura to start the fourth inning. DionerNavarro walked with one out in the sixth and Johnny Gomessingled in the eighth to represent the only other batters toreach base against Wakefield.


"He had a good bullpen, the ball was coming out of his handclean and it had a lot of life down there," catcher DougMirabelli said. "Then after the first inning, it was dancing allover the place so I felt if we gave him a couple of runs early,we were going to win this game.


"I think it was very important for us to get back at home andget some momentum going our way and playing in front of our homecrowd."


The knuckleballer pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing twohits and two walks while striking out six. Jonathan Papelbonpitched the ninth to pick up his 28th save of the season.

"I told him that was huge not only for himself but for ourbullpen, because we ran into our bullpen this past weekendpretty heavy," Papelbon said of Wakefield. "For him to come outhere on the first game back on the homestand, it is impressive.Really impressive."


The win did not come easy for the Red Sox as James Shields (9-8)refused to be overshadowed by Wakefield, allowing one run onfive hits over six innings. The righthander struck out fivewithout allowing a walk and retired the final eight batters hefaced before being lifted in favor of Gary Glover to begin theseventh.


"Sheilds pitched great after getting hit with a line-drive onthe first hitter of the game," Devil Rays manager John Maddonsaid. "He went out in the second inning and you saw a littlebit of gesticulations with his arm - but he was fine and he hadwhat, 103 or 104 pitches when we took him out, so that was apretty good night."


Glover got Alex Cora and Mike Lowell to fly out for the firsttwo outs of the inning, before issuing back-to-back walks toEric Hinske and Mirabelli. Julio Lugo followed with his thirdhit of the night, a single that plated Mirabelli, extending theRed Sox lead to 2-0.


"He swung the bat well, he swung the bat very well," Red Soxmanager Terry Francona said. "I think he probably gets a littleexcited to play these guys, I think most players do againsttheir former friends and teammates."


Boston added an insurance run in the eighth when Lowell singledto center, driving in Manny Ramirez, who reached on a base hitwith one out in the frame.


"I was looking at Manny because he got a good jump and as hitteryou always appreciate when guys read your ball and not only doyou get a hit but you knock in a run," Lowell said. "A two-rundifference versus a three-run difference is a little morecushion and any run is big."


The Red Sox opened the scoring in the first inning when DavidOrtiz's double drove in Lugo, who led off the inning with asingle.