Red Sox-Rays: John Lackey Struggles Late as Boston Loses Series to Tampa

The Boston Red Sox needed to win this game, the finale of their series against the Tampa Bay Rays, one of the two teams they are trying to catch in the American League standings.

They played up to par early, as starting pitcher John Lackey held the Rays at bay while one-out singles in the fifth inning by Yamaico Navarro and Marco Scutaro gave him a 2-1 lead with which to work.

Victory or defeat would either mean a four-game or six-game deficit respectively. A lot was on the line for the extraordinarily resilient Red Sox.

I am heading off to New York next week and then to Boston to see these two teams battle at Fenway Park, an actual baseball stadium compared to the dump the Rays play in. Going to the historic stadium for the first time will make the journey memorable, but a slim margin between the two teams entering the contest and then a victory by Boston would make it even more so.

A win tonight, which would ensure a confidence-boosting series win, could go a long way in their effort to close the gap in time for my arrival.

It was even more of a possibility after another clutch hit by Daniel Nava. The outfielder has excelled in high-pressure situations such as the one he entered in the top of the sixth. He is hitting 11-for-25 with 17 RBI with runners in scoring position and only increased those statistics by ripping a single to right, scoring Adrian Beltre to put Boston ahead 3-1.

The advantage was enjoyable, and I was confident that Lackey could find his way through the heart of Tampa Bay’s order in the bottom to increase my happiness as well as that of the thousands of Red Sox fans in attendance.

The margin, though, washed away, as it turned into a deficit made possible by Carl Crawford. The speedy outfielder and third-place hitter smacked a fastball grooved right down the pipe into the right-field seats, leaving Lackey yelping in frustration.

This sparked an inning in which a third run was scored. But a fourth was kept off the board by the tandem of center fielder Darnell McDonald and catcher Victor Martinez.

Dan Johnson, the hero of the night before, singled up the middle with the bases loaded and two out. The sharp grounder was picked up by a charging McDonald, who fired a one-hopper right into the glove of Martinez. He turned and tagged a sliding Carlos Pena, who slid with his spikes up, digging his right foot into Martinez’s thigh, but though the catcher was shaken up, a much-needed out was recorded.

However, come the seventh inning, the Rays would get that run, as Evan Longoria singled in John Jaso with two out, knocking out a distraught Lackey. Afterward, Lackey said he “threw the ball about as good as I’ve thrown the ball in years.” But he didn’t have anything positive to show for it, and Boston couldn’t recover, going down quietly in both the eighth and ninth to lose the series and fall 6.5 games behind.

With 30 games to go, there is still time for Boston to make a final playoff push. But they cannot split series, and they certainly cannot lose series. They need to beat the teams they are supposed to beat, and up next is the Baltimore Orioles, a bottom-dweller that has played well under new manager Buck Showalter.

Boston’s hopes are fading, but, looking up at two teams in the standings that refuse to budge, a fool’s hope is better than nothing at all.