Tonight, Tampa Bay needed Scott Kazmir to post a big game start reminiscent of an October Josh Beckett. Instead, the left-hander was more reflective of Chien-Ming Wang - a good starter with a solid record and an impressive ERA, but someone who does not step up when it really matters. The Boston Red Sox pummeled Kazmir for nine runs and six hits (including four home runs) in three innings and routed the Rays, 13-5, in the first of a three-game series at Tropicana Field.
The Sox, which were three games back on Saturday and 5.5 games behind Tampa Bay on Aug. 31, are now tied for the American League East lead. They had lost all six games this year at the Trop before tonight's victory. Tomorrow, Boston will attempt to reclaim first place when Beckett opposes Andy Sonnanstine.
From the first inning tonight, it was apparent that Boston was not fooled by Kazmir. Coco Crisp and Dustin Pedroia opened the game with four-pitch walks. Then David Ortiz blasted his 19th home run of the season into the right field seats. Mike Lowell, who reported today that he has a torn labrum in his hip and will have surgery in the off-season, belted a solo home run to give the Sox a 4-0 advantage before Tampa Bay stepped to the plate.
Daisuke Matsuzaka certainly was not economical, but he did not get bashed like Kazmir. Dice-K allowed one run (a solo home run by Akinori Iwamura) and three hits over five innings, but he threw 101 pitches. He did improve to 17-2. Chris Smith tossed two innings of relief and was touched for four runs and four hits while Mike Timlin and David Pauley each pitched an inning of scoreless relief.
Boston broke open the game in the fourth. Jason Bay led off with a deep drive to center field that disappeared into the catwalk high above the playing surface. By rule, it is a home run, which was Bay's 30th of the season and his eighth since joining the Sox. After Jed Lowrie walked, Jason Varitek ripped his 13th home run of the year for a 7-1 Boston lead. Kazmir was chased after serving up a single to Jacoby Ellsbury and a double to Coco Crisp. Rookie Mitch Talbot entered and was greeted with an RBI single by Dustin Pedroia. Ortiz followed with a run-scoring force play grounder. Kevin Youkilis lined a two-run dinger, his 26th of the season, to end the seven-run eruption and lift the Sox ahead, 11-1.
After single runs in the fifth (on an Ellsbury home run) and the sixth (thanks to an RBI double from Youkilis, Boston owned a 13-1 advantage. Both teams emptied their benches and the final four innings resembled a Pawtucket-Durham game (Durham is Tampa Bay's Triple-A affiliate in the International League).
The rout was a refreshing change for the Sox, which had been swept in their previous two visits to Tropicana Field. It was also a favorable response to last week's disappointment that saw the Rays take two out of three at Fenway Park after Boston had won the first six meetings there. The pitching match-ups (Beckett and Sonnanstine on Tuesday and Tim Wakefield versus Matt Garza on Wednesday) look appealing for Boston, especially since Garza will be starting on just three days of rest.
Beckett is available to throw 100 pitches on Tuesday after restrictions in his previous two starts since returning from the disabled list. The ace looked impressive against Texas and Tampa Bay. Boston needs a deep and effective outing from him in a game that has October implications.
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