Ellsbury, Homers Help Red Sox Defeat Sonnanstine, Sliding Rays

Boston Red Sox defeat the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)" title="Victor Martinez and Jacoby Ellsbury" width="410" height="290" />

Victor Martinez and Jacoby Ellsbury helped the Boston Red Sox defeat the Tampa Bay Rays. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

At this same time last year—the beginning of September, the season’s final month—the Tampa Bay Rays consistently sold-out crowd was raucous and intensely intrigued by their playoff-bound team. At this time this year, when looking throughout their domed Tropicana Field, there are more empty seats than filled. Seventeen thousand, six-hundred and ninety-two showed up for the first game of their three game series against the Boston Red Sox, approximately a third of a capacity crowd.

The stadium has garnered this paltry support for a while now, but there is good reason for that. Unlike last year, the magical year in which the Rays went to the World Series, the fans have little to celebrate. They entered the contest five games behind Boston, and therefore five games out of the Wild Card, while their offense and pitching have failed to rekindle the magic of 2008’s run.

The fans that had the decency to come were quiet for a better part of the game, depressed like their team. They had some to cheer about, starting with Carlos Peña’s first inning RBI single, but they were quickly silenced.

Tampa Bay’s starting pitcher Andy Sonnanstine, who, like many of his teammates, has struggled this season after an immensely successful 2008, worked out of a two-out jam in the first inning. But he couldn’t do so in the second, as Jacoby Ellsbury’s soft liner that drifted over third baseman Evan Longoria’s outstretched glove and into left field scored Mike Lowell.

Lowell reached in the fourth as well, doing so by doubling to lead off the frame. J.D. Drew, who had a torrid August, continued his offensive tear by demolishing a hanging changeup into the left field seats for a two run homer. After his sweet swing, one of the purest in the majors, he glided around the bases in perfect stride to a chorus of boos. Then Tropicana went silent.

The fans stayed that way, as three straight Red Sox reached before a sacrifice fly by Kevin Youkilis increased Boston’s lead to three. The Rays chipped into the margin in the bottom half of the inning against Boston’s starting pitcher Jon Lester, as Pena clubbed his 39th home run, a solo shot to center, but the momentum was short-lived as Bay homered to begin the fifth, and Lowell hit a sacrifice-fly in the sixth.

With the Red Sox now holding onto a four run advantage, Lester finished strong. He made quick work of the Rays in the sixth to complete an outstanding outing that included nine strikeouts. His performance continued a trend, pitching like Clay Buchholz and Paul Byrd did before him.

Billy Wagner, who struck out the side in his debut with the Red Sox, struck out two Rays during his perfect seventh inning. However, Hideki Okajima wasn’t as successful.

After a solo-homer by Youkilis silenced an already relatively quiet crowd, Okajima brought them out of their seats. He allowed a single to Longoria to begin the inning, then walked Pena and relinquished a RBI single to Pat Burrell. A single by Willy Aybar loaded the bases, and another by Dioner Navarro finally forced Red Sox manager Terry Francona to exit the dugout and take Okajima out.

Closer Jonathan Papelbon was ushered in. He is well-versed in the bases-loaded jam, and though this one wasn’t his fault, his experience in handling this situation paid dividends. Tampa Bay forced him to throw a lot of pitches, 18, but they couldn’t muster anything against him. B.J. Upton struck out. Ellsbury, who had a fantastic diving catch in the fourth, made a tremendous sliding grab on Jason Bartlett’s liner for the second out of the ninth. Then Carl Crawford flew to out to Bay. As has been the recurring theme with Papelbon, a threat averted.

As added insurance to the maintained three run lead, Ellsbury socked a two-out RBI triple in the ninth, giving Papelbon, set for his second inning of duty, more than enough to work with.

Boston’s closer struck out Longoria for the second out of the ninth, then, for his 33rd save, disposed of Pena on three pitches. As catcher Victor Martinez, who reached three times in the contest, walked out to the mound to congratulate him, there was a spattering of boos, but a majority of the fans exited by quietly hiding their disappointment. They were somber as they strutted out of the Trop, trying to come to grips with the reality that this was not the Rays team they adored almost a year ago.