Despite myriad injuries, the Boston Red Sox survived their weekend series reasonably well, winning two out of three games against Baltimore. All well and good, but bear in mind that the Orioles have the worst record in the majors by a good five-game margin. Tonight they start a three-game series with the Tampa Rays, and it could prove to be an early tipping point for both clubs in the second-half race.
photo credit: TheBusyBrain
Could be a fateful three-game series between the Red Sox and the Rays at the Tropicana Dome this week.
After a blistering start, the Rays’ fortunes dimmed considerably in June. Their record was just 11-14. Now into July, Tampa looks a bit better. They have a modest two-game winning streak and are winners of six of their last ten games. Still, they need to get much more production out of B.J. Upton, Carlos Pena, and James Shields if they are going to stay in the playoff hunt.
As of today, Pena is hitting for power, but his average is an even .200—and that represents an improvement from a month ago. Upton, as always, has amazing talent, but he is at just .228. Shields had another dicey start yesterday, giving up four earned runs in sixth inning. However, it was good enough for the win. Still, his ERA is an uncharacteristic 4.83 at this point.
Meanwhile, I keep waiting for the Sox to collapse due to their woeful luck with injuries. This series should really test them with pitching matchups. Tonight will be critical for Boston, as Daisuke Matsuzaka has been good lately, while his counterpart Matt Garza has been a little off of late. Yet Garza’s track record against Boston is very good.
The Red Sox had better get the win tonight because the next two nights look to favor the Rays heavily. With Clay Buchholz going on the DL, Felix Doubront will take the mound for Boston against Jeff Niemann tomorrow. Doubront looked okay in his one start last week, but Niemann is 6-2 with a 2.80 ERA this season. On Wednesday, the Sox have to face one of the best pitchers in the league in David Price, who is now 11-4 with a 2.42 ERA. Can Tim Wakefield match up with him? Anything is possible with the knuckleballer, but I wouldn’t recommend betting the mortgage on the BoSox this Wednesday.
A Tampa sweep is a possibility and would be a harbinger of worse things to come for the Red Sox. One Boston win would avert a disaster, and two would be truly remarkable. Keep an eye on this one.
