Devils Rays vs Red Sox (8/13-8/15)

Game 1: Tim Wakefield had a no-hitter through 6 innings before giving up a leadoff single to Carl Crawford in the top of the 7th inning. At the time, the Red Sox were clinging to a 1-0 lead. Crawford successfully stole 2nd base but was stranded by Tim Wakefield as the Red Sox kept their slim lead.

The Red Sox would score another run in the bottom of the 7th inning and tack on more in the bottom of the 8th inning to extend the lead.

Wakefield finished with 8 innings pitched, 2 hits allowed, and no earned runs. He struck out 6. Jonathan Papelbon came in to pitch the 9th and struck out 2 batters to complete the shutout and keep the Red Sox 4 games ahead of New York.

Game 2: The Red Sox finally got what they were looking for out of Jon Lester in his emotional return to Fenway Park. Lester labored through the first bunch of innings but finished strong. Lester ended up hurling 7 innings while using under 100 pitches. He allowed 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 earned run as he struck out 4. Though he pitched great, Lester left with a 1-0 disadvantage and the score would stay that way until the 9th inning.

The Red Sox got good performances out of Mike Timlin and Eric Gagne (1 IP 3 Ks) in relief. Manny Delcarmen also contributed but got the Red Sox into a jam in the 8th inning before Timlin bailed him out. The solid bullpen work allowed the Red Sox to stay close.

In the bottom of the 9th, Manny Ramirez led off and was retired. With 1 out, Mike Lowell came to the plate and deposited an Al Reyes pitch into the Green Monster seats to tie the game and send the Fenway Faithful into a frenzy. It turned out that the Red Sox weren't quite done. With 2 outs and nobody on base, Varitek ripped a single into the right field corner, not missing a walk-off homerun by very much. Coco Crisp was next to the plate and after a lengthy at bat, he singled to right field which allowed Varitek to score. Delmon Young fielded Crisp's hit and made a poor throw to home. A good throw may or may not have made a difference.

The Yankees also lost this evening, so the Red Sox lead in the AL East increases to 5 games.

Game 3: Daisuke Matsuzaka labored through 6 innings on Wednesday afternoon while Andy Sonnanstine was baffling Red Sox hitters. The Red Sox trailed 6-0 going into the 7th inning before Jason Varitek hit a 2-run homerun and Julio Lugo recorded an RBI double to cut the Devil Rays' lead in half.

After Daisuke's departure, Julian Tavarez and Mike Timlin gave the Red Sox solid work out of the bullpen as they combined for 3 scoreless frames.

The Red Sox were able to score another run off of Dan Wheeler in the 8th inning to cut the lead to 2. Jason Varitek had a chance to do more damage but grounded a changeup to 1st base to end the inning.

Entering the 9th inning, the Red Sox needed 2 runs to tie. The inning was led off by Coco Crisp who started things with a bunt single. Julio Lugo followed that up with an RBI double. With 0 outs and Lugo (the tying run on 1st base), the Red Sox could have potentially put across the game-tying run without even getting a hit. Unfortunately, there were no clutch hits on Wednesday afternoon as Dustin Pedroia recorded the 1st out as he struck out swinging. Kevin Youkilis followed that up with a strikeout of his own before David Ortiz walked. As a result of the walk, Manny Ramirez came to the plate with the winning run on 1st base and 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th. Ramirez fouled off pitch after pitch before finally striking out on a neck-high pitch from Al Reyes.

The win was Tampa Bay's first of the season in Fenway Park. Fortunately, the Yankees 9th inning rally was overcome by the Baltimore Orioles so the lead stayed at 5 games as the midway point of August has passed.

On Deck:The Red Sox will get the day off on Thursday and will resume play on Friday night against the Angels from Fenway Park. Ervin Santana will face Josh Beckett in the opener. It is rumored that Clay Buchholz will start the 2nd game of the doubleheader on Friday night against John Lackey. Buchholz is highly regarded and is the Red Sox top pitching prospect at the current time. He has been baffling hitters in the minor leagues and the Red Sox are hoping that it will translate to success in the major leagues in the near future. Another big arm would be a great boost for the Red Sox, whether out of the bullpen or in the starting rotation.