Youkilis powers Red Sox to weekend sweep of Rays

No Big Papi, no problem for the Boston Red Sox. With David Ortiz on the bench resting a sore knee, Kevin Youkilis hit in the No. 3 spot and provided the pop. Youkilis belted two doubles, a home run and a sacrifice fly, knocked in four runs and scored twice to power the Red Sox to a 7-3 victory Sunday afternoon and a three-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays.

After scoring just five runs in three losses at Tampa Bay last weekend, Boston erupted for 26 in the sweep this weekend at Fenway Park. The Red Sox also continued to receive solid starting pitching as Jon Lester limited the Rays to one run and four hits over six innings. Lester, who blanked the Toronto Blue Jays for eight innings in his previous start, did not allow a run today until Carlos Pena launched a solo shot into the right field seats with one out in the sixth inning. Scott Kazmir, who is usually unhittable when he pitches against Boston, was shaky in his first start of the season. He allowed four runs (three earned) and six hits in four innings.

Once again, Boston was short-handed, this time because of Ortiz's sore knee and Brandon Moss out after an emergency appendectomy. As they have for most of the young season, the Red Sox received contributions from a variety of sources, including Youkilis and Lester. Manny Ramirez ripped an RBI double in the third. In the top of the seventh, after Manny Delcarmen coughed up an RBI triple to Akinori Iwamura, Hideki Okajima entered and surrendered a run-scoring single to Carl Crawford that trimmed the Boston lead to 4-3, but Okajima then struck out B.J. Upton and Pena to end the inning.

Boston has made a habit of mounting late-inning rallies, and it did again today. Youkilis lined at solo home run off Dan Wheeler in the bottom of the seventh to lift the Red Sox ahead, 5-3. An inning later, Julio Lugo and Jacoby Ellsbury executed a double steal and later scored on a Youkilis double. Jonathan Papelbon, who was brought in with two outs and one on in the top of the eighth and retired Dioner Navarro on a ground out, dismissed the Rays in order in the ninth to register his ninth save of the year.

The Red Sox rebounded nicely from a five-game losing streak by winning five of six at home against Toronto and Tampa Bay. Now 20-13, Boston is more comfortably positioned atop the American League East with a three-game lead over Baltimore and Tampa Bay, both of which are 16-15, and the Yankees, which are 17-16. The Red Sox will embark on a 10-game road trip which includes four games each in Detroit and Minnesota, and two in Baltimore, before returning to Fenway Park for a three-game interleague series versus Milwaukee.

With Moss on the disabled list while recovering from appendicitis, Craig Hansen was summoned from Triple-A Pawtucket. Sean Casey is expected to return from the disabled list next weekend, and Alex Cora could be activated soon, too.

Hansen will try to continue the string of Red Sox prospects who have contributed at the Major League level this season. Jed Lowrie, who will be optioned to Pawtucket when Cora is activated, has shined, as has Moss, who is a more productive right field option than the brittle J.D. Drew.