BOSTON STRONG -
THE ROAD TO REDEMPTION
 2013 ALDS, GAME #1
The Red Sox crush the Rays

October 4, 2013 ... The Red Sox didn't merely beat the Rays soundly in Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Fenway Park.  On the one-year anniversary of the firing of manager Bobby Valentine after an embarrassing last-place finish, the Red Sox thrilled a sold-out crowd of 38,177 with their first postseason victory since Oct. 18, 2008.  En route to a 12-2 victory, Boston at times even seemed to break Tampa Bay's spirit.

Rain canceled batting practice on the field but the skies cleared about 45 minutes before first pitch.  Pent up after four off-days, the Red Sox got into their groove in the middle innings and grinded out Rays starter Matt Moore in much the same way they've done to countless other pitchers this season.  Even by their own standards, the Red Sox were ridiculously balanced in this one. All nine starters had at least a hit and a run, marking just the third time that's been done in postseason history by any team, and the first since 1936.

And Jon Lester stayed right in the groove he's been in since mid-July, overpowering Tampa Bay for much of the afternoon.  The lefty went 7 2/3 innings, a career high in the postseason. He allowed three hits, two of which were solo homers. Lester walked three and struck out seven, throwing 114 pitches.

The intensity in the stands was apparent from the first pitch, and the players no doubt fed off of it.  Nobody heard it more than

 Rays right fielder Wil Myers, the highly touted rookie who had a tough initiation to postseason play in a hostile environment.  Without question, the game's turning point was a flyball to deep right by David Ortiz that Myers called for, only to mysteriously peel off at the last second. The ground-rule double set the wheels in motion for the five-spot the Red Sox dropped on the Rays in that bottom of the fourth.  Perhaps the roar of the crowd, and the fact that Myers saw center fielder Desmond Jennings out of the corner of his eye, combined to make one memorable gaffe.  The Fenway faithful became almost gleeful at the misplay by Myers, hollering his name in mocking fashion countless times for the rest of the day.

Lester looked completely unhittable when the game started, striking out the side in a 14-pitch first. He whiffed Evan Longoria to open the second.  With two outs in that second, there was an abrupt halt to Lester's momentum. Lester thought he had Sean Rodriguez with a strikeout on a 2-2 changeup. Then came the next pitch, a misplaced fastball, that Rodriguez belted over the Monster to make it a 1-0 game.  Between innings, Lester conferred with home-plate umpire Chris Guccione.

While Moore held it there with three no-hit innings, the Rays got another home run swing in the fourth, this one a solo blow by Ben Zobrist on a 3-1 fastball that was high enough to probably be called ball four.  The game changed entirely in the bottom of the fourth when the Rays blinked with some misplays and the Red Sox pounced hard on all of them.

Dustin Pedroia opened the rally innocently enough with a leadoff single up the middle.  Then came the Ortiz flyball that landed inches in front of the wall and then into Boston's bullpen after Myers gave up on it.  That play could have just been a footnote instead of a big story if Moore had been able to stop the bleeding.  But the Red Sox kept coming. Gomes hit a high fly ball to left that glanced off the Monster for a two-run double, tying the game at 2. Two batters later, Stephen Drew hit a grounder to the right side that the Rays hoped could be the third out.  Instead, the feed from first baseman James Loney to Moore was too late. Not only that, but as Moore glanced at first-base umpire Eric Cooper to see the ball, Gomes roared around from second and scored to give the Red Sox the lead. Gomes pulled off a similar play on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium.

The unraveling of the Rays continued when Moore surrendered a double to Will Middlebrooks that took a strange hop that eluded Rodriguez in left, allowing Drew to score all the way from first. And when Moore struck out Jacoby Ellsbury, that wasn't even a good thing. Instead, it was a passed ball by Jose Lobaton, keeping the inning alive. Naturally, Victorino capitalized, punching an RBI single to right that capped the damage in the five-run frame.

When the Red Sox came back up in the fifth, they went right back on the attack. Napoli hit one off the wall in left and made a tremendous hook slide into second that allowed him to beat out a subpar throw by Rodriguez. With one out, Rays manager Joe Maddon opted for an intentional walk to Gomes, challenging Jarrod Saltalamacchia from his weaker right side. But Saltalamacchia came through, lofting a two-run double off the Monster.  Ellsbury lifted the lead to 8-2 with a single up the middle against reliever Wesley Wright.

Though the Red Sox got off to a rousing start in this series, they know it's only one game. And in the history of the ALDS, teams who win the first game have just a slight edge, winning 21 of the 36 series.  One thing is clear -- the Boston fans are as up for this series as the players they are cheering for.

Matt Thornton, Ryan Lavarnway, and John McDonald are not on the roster but are staying with the team and were in uniform. The same was true for injured pitchers Andrew Bailey and Andrew Miller.

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