June 5, 2008
Boston 9, Tampa Bay 6
Matt Albers first start with the Red Sox couldn't have gone as the youngster had hoped, but, a strong offensive output by J.D. Drew salvaged the day for Boston.
Getting a start in place of Josh Beckett, Albers hadn't seen action since lasting a third of an inning against Scranton while a member of the Norfolk Tides on May 28th. Propped up with an early 3-0 lead, Albers surrendered 5 runs in the third to the Rays, but was able to hang around long enough for the Sox to rally back to earn the no-decision.
With two-outs in the first, Drew hit a double to right-center that skipped past B.J. Upton, allowing Dustin Pedroia and Manny Ramirez to score easily. Kevin Youkilis followed Drew with a RBI-single to put the Sox ahead by three.
Wily Aybar led off the third with a triple and scored on a passed ball by Jason Varitek. A single by Akinori Iwamura was followed by a pair of walks to Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena to load the bases for the Rays. A visit by pitch coach John Farrell seemed to help Albers find the plate again, as Eric Hinske ripped his next pitch to right field to bring home Iwamura and Crawford. B.J. Upton followed with a single on the first pitch eh saw as well, brining home Pena without a throw. Cliff Floyd followed with a four pitch walk. With the bases loaded, Albers was able to get Jason Bartlett to fly out to center, allowing Hinske to tag up and score, but Upton was caught at third trying to advance to end the inning.
The Sox added a run in the bottom of the 5th when Drew double and scored on a pair of wild pitches by Rays starter James Shields. After loading the bases in the sixth, Tampa Bay was able to the get the run right back with a sacrifice fly by Navarro, but the Rays were unable to do any more damage. Javier Lopez came out of the bullpen in relief of Albers to get Crawford to ground into an inning ending double play.
Boston took the lead in the seventh when Dustin Pedroia launched a three-run home run into the right field bleachers to end Shields' night. Drew would later add a two-run shot of his own off reliever Al Reyes to seal the series win for the Sox.
W: Lopez (4-1) L: Shields (2-9) SV: Delcarmen (5)
Player of the Game: J.D. Drew (3-4, 2 2B, HR, 3 Rs, 4 RBIs)
Around the League:
...Florida Marlins traded RF Cody Ross (.267, 7 Hrs, 24 RBIs) to the Washington Nationals in exchange for minor league SP John Lannan (4-5, 4.50 ERA w/ Columbus)...