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RUBBY DE LA ROSA |
BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
Wil Myers' wins it for the Rays
September 12, 2013 ...
Will Myers' ball ducked into fair territory. just inside the line, in the eighth inning and Evan Longoria scampered home with the winning run as the Rays dodged a three-game sweep
to the Red Sox with a 4-3 win at Tropicana Field.
Then Will Middlebrooks stepped to the plate in the top of the ninth inning and flashed back to the night of May 16, when he cracked a bases clearing double against
Fernando Rodney, with two outs and two strikes, to give the Red Sox one of their signature comeback wins this season. This time, Middlebrooks hit a bullet again, but his line drive
against Rodney was hit right at third baseman Evan Longoria, defusing a rally in which the Sox had two on and one out, down by just a run. After the out by Middlebrooks,
Dustin Pedroia popped to short, as the Red Sox ended a mostly successful seven-game road trip with a 4-3 loss to the Rays.
Once again, the Red Sox proved they are never out of a game. Stephen Drew had some luck to start that ninth-inning rally, hitting an excuse-me single down the third-base line.
Mike Carp, fresh off his game-winning grand slam, worked a four-pitch walk. But that was as far as the rally went.
After a 5-2 road trip against the Yankees and Rays, the Red Sox remain in prime position to win the American League East, holding an 8 1/2-game lead with 14 games left. Even if the Rays have all but fallen out of the division race, manager Joe Maddon
predicted his team would see the Red Sox again in 2013.
With his usual late-inning relief pitchers in need of rest, Red Sox manager John Farrell turned to two prospects, Drake Britton and Rubby De La Rosa, against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. Britton passed his test, but not De La Rosa. He allowed a run in the
eighth inning. The hard-throwing righty entered a 3-3 game with one out in the eighth and was greeted by a ground-rule double by Evan Longoria. Wil Myers then looped one down the
line in right just fair for an RBI double that put the Rays ahead for good.
Britton, who has been with the Sox since July 14, has fallen down the bullpen depth chart in recent weeks and had only one appearance this month. But the 24-year-old lefthander started the seventh inning of a 3-3 game. Britton issued a walk with one out then
started a double play to end the inning, making a confident throw to second base. He then got the first out of the eighth inning before De La Rosa came on.
Red Sox starter Jake Peavy walked five batters, matching his season high, over six innings. But he allowed only three runs and, most importantly, escaped injury when he was struck by a line drive in the sixth inning. The ball hit Peavy on the outer edge of the
right wrist. He stayed in the game and got the final out of the inning before leaving after 107 pitches. The Red Sox got home runs from Saltalamacchia and David Ortiz, but it wasn't
quite enough.
Former Red Sox manager Don Zimmer watched from the stands as the teams took batting practice. Zimmer, 82, is a senior adviser with the Rays. Jonny Gomes, a former Tampa Bay player, sat with Zimmer for a bit. Dustin Pedroia also went over to say hello. Gomes, a
baseball history buff, toured the Ted Williams Museum at Tropicana Field and purchased a signed photograph of Williams and Johnny Pesky with American servicemen at Fenway Park during World War II. |
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