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Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Boston Red Sox: 70-54, .565 -9.5 GB, 1st AL Wild Card
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: 64-60, .516, -15.5 GB, 5th AL WC, -6 GB
Series Matchup
As the days on the calendar slip away, the Red Sox are getting closer to must-win baseball. Coming up against the tough Tampa Bay Devil Rays again, Boston is looking for atleast a series win to begin their difficult road trip that continues through four games in Chicago and 3 in New York.
Tampa Bay is coming off a three-game sweep of Cleveland and has won 9 of their last ten games to pull with six games of Boston in the Wild Card race. The Devil Rays have been led by Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Longoria (.289, 23 HR, 87 RBI). A series win here will put the Rays back in playoff contention for the first time in their brief history.
Season Series:
Boston 5, Tampa Bay 4
Pitching Matchups:
8/20: Joe Blanton (1-0, 2.84) v. Jacob McGee (2.42)
8/21: Joe Saunders (5-5, 4.08) v. Daisuke Matsuzaka (10-6, 5.21)
8/22: Scott Kazmir v. Curt Schiling (13-7, 4.10)