Boston (0-0) at Tampa Bay (0-0)

TV: TBS | Radio: WRKO 680, ESPN Radio 8:07 pm ET Tropicana Field TV: TBS | Radio: WHNZ 1250, ESPN Radio
bos

Beckett eager for redemption vs. Rays

Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
Josh Beckett will be back on the mound on Saturday in Game 2 of the ALCS vs. the Rays, a more regular schedule under his belt. The big question will be how the right-hander fares under those normal circumstances -- and the Red Sox are eager to find out.
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Red Sox probable pitcher

Josh Beckett

  • #19 RHP
  • (0-0) -.-- ERA 0 SO
Coming off a right oblique injury that pushed him back a few days against the Angels, Beckett wasn't particularly sharp in his Game 3 start in the ALDS, throwing 106 pitches over five innings and giving up nine hits and four runs. He'll have five days of rest for this start. Despite the struggles of his last start, Beckett's postseason track record (6-2, 2.09 ERA in 11 outings) speaks for itself. Beckett has made four career starts at Tropicana Field, going 1-2 with a 1.93 ERA. Beckett is no stranger to the Rays, having faced them five times in 2008. He was 2-1 with a 2.06 ERA in those outings.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 89-62 3.78 1188.2 371 1131 .241
Season 12-10 4.03 174.1 34 172 .256
Vs. Tampa Bay 2-1 2.06 35.0 5 37 .209

Series at a Glance

Standings - 10/11/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
Boston Red Sox (AL East) 95 67 .586 2.0 56-25 39-42
Tampa Bay Rays (AL East) 97 65 .599 - 57-24 40-41
Stats - 10/11/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
BOS .280 845 173 807 120 1068 4.01 1446.1 1369 548 1185
TB .260 774 180 735 142 1224 3.82 1457.2 1349 526 1143
tb

Kazmir continues to shadow Beckett

Jason Beck / MLB.com
Scott Kazmir's career was intertwined with Josh Beckett in some way or another long before he arrived in the big leagues. Now that they're matched up for Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Saturday night at Tropicana Field, the comparisons are inescapable.
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Rays probable pitcher

Scott Kazmir

  • #19 LHP
  • (0-0) -.-- ERA 0 SO
Kazmir recorded the win that gave the Rays a 2-0 series lead over Chicago in the ALDS. The youngest member of the Rays rotation, Kazmir gave a gutsy performance, wriggling out of a 37-pitch first inning with two runs allowed. Two pitches into the game, Kazmir hit White Sox leadoff man Orlando Cabrera with a pitch and the southpaw followed with a walk to Nick Swisher. Chicago's Jermaine Dye added a single to load the bases, creating a daunting situation early. Kazmir said he was simply struggling with his location, and was economical enough in the following frames to exit with the lead after 5 1/3 innings. When he has command of his slider, Kazmir can be devastating. He is a career 6-7 against the Red Sox, with 3.62 ERA.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 47-37 3.61 723.0 332 783 .242
Season 12-8 3.49 152.1 70 166 .220
Vs. Boston 0-2 9.00 18.0 14 14 .324

Red Sox hitters vs Scott Kazmir
Regular Season stats only

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Anderson, Brian .000 3 0 0 .000 6 0 0
Bates, Aaron - - - - - - - -
Brown, Dusty - - - - - - - -
Drew, J.D. .250 4 0 1 .143 7 0 1
Ellsbury, Jacoby .250 8 0 0 .286 14 0 0
Hermida, Jeremy - - - - .333 3 0 0
Iglesias, Jose - - - - - - - -
Kotchman, Casey .400 5 0 0 .400 5 0 0
Lowell, Mike .333 9 2 2 .265 34 4 7
Lowrie, Jed .000 2 0 0 .000 2 0 0
Martinez, Victor - - - - .375 8 0 0
Ortiz, David .500 2 1 3 .205 39 2 8
Pedroia, Dustin .556 9 1 2 .560 25 1 3
Reddick, Josh - - - - - - - -
Varitek, Jason .286 7 1 2 .214 28 1 4
Wagner, Mark - - - - - - - -
Youkilis, Kevin .222 9 0 2 .200 35 0 2

Rays hitters vs Josh Beckett
Regular Season stats only

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI
Aybar, Willy .667 3 0 1 .667 3 0 1
Bartlett, Jason .167 12 0 0 .333 18 0 0
Brignac, Reid - - - - - - - -
Burrell, Pat - - - - .179 28 0 0
Crawford, Carl .100 10 0 0 .261 23 0 0
Gross, Gabe .077 13 1 2 .077 13 1 2
Jaso, John - - - - - - - -
Jennings, Desmond - - - - - - - -
Johnson, Elliot - - - - - - - -
Joyce, Matt .000 3 0 0 .000 3 0 0
Kapler, Gabe - - - - - - - -
Lobaton, Jose - - - - - - - -
Longoria, Evan .333 12 1 2 .333 12 1 2
Navarro, Dioner .143 14 0 0 .158 19 0 1
Pena, Carlos .250 12 1 1 .176 17 1 1
Perez, Fernando .000 3 0 0 .000 3 0 0
Riggans, Shawn - - - - .000 3 0 1
Rodriguez, Sean - - - - - - - -
Ruggiano, Justin - 0 0 0 - 0 0 0
Upton, B.J. .000 6 0 0 .250 12 0 0
Zobrist, Ben - - - - - - - -

Takes a second but Rays even (1-1) (1-1)

Rays 9, Red Sox 8 (11)

Four for the road

Ian Browne / MLB.com
Dustin Pedroia homered twice, while Jason Bay and Kevin Youkilis also cleared the walls, but Boston's four-HR night wasn't enough to overcome a shaky Josh Beckett. The usually stellar ace allowed three homers as the champs split in Florida.

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Series at a Glance

 

Dome cooking

Bill Chastain / MLB.com
B.J. Upton, who hit one of three Rays homers, delivered a sac fly in the 11th inning as the Rays clawed past the Red Sox to tie the ALCS at a game apiece. Cliff Floyd and Evan Longoria also went deep during Tampa Bay's late-night festivities.
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Rays 9, Red Sox 8

BostonABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Ellsbury, RF6000023.000
  Cash, C0000000.000
Pedroia, 2B5432110.500
Ortiz, DH3100311.000
Youkilis, 3B6231003.600
Bay, LF5134111.500
Lowrie, SS3000304.000
Varitek, C3000122.000
  a-Drew, PH-RF1000100.250
Kotsay, 1B6000024.100
Crisp, CF6030014.500
Totals448127101022 

a-Lined out for Varitek in the 9th.

BATTING
2B: Bay (1, Kazmir), Crisp 2 (2, Kazmir, Wheeler).
HR: Pedroia 2 (2, 3rd inning off Kazmir, 0 on, 0 out; 5th inning off Kazmir, 0 on, 0 out), Youkilis (1, 5th inning off Kazmir, 0 on, 1 out), Bay (1, 5th inning off Balfour, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Pedroia 9; Youkilis 6; Bay 7; Crisp 5.
RBI: Bay 4 (4), Pedroia 2 (2), Youkilis (2).
2-out RBI: Bay 3.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Varitek; Ellsbury 2; Crisp 2; Lowrie.
GIDP: Youkilis.
Team LOB: 13.

FIELDING
Pickoffs: Beckett (Crawford at 1st base).
 
Tampa BayABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Iwamura, 2B5010111.250
Upton, CF4212132.250
Pena, C, 1B5221011.286
Longoria, 3B5333000.333
Crawford, LF5022000.375
Floyd, DH2111010.333
  a-Aybar, W, PH-DH3000001.000
Navarro, C4010111.125
  1-Perez, F, PR0100000.000
Gross, RF3000011.000
  b-Zobrist, PH-RF1000100.000
Bartlett, SS5010013.125
Totals4291294910 

a-Flied out for Floyd in the 5th. b-Grounded out for Gross in the 8th.
1-Ran for Navarro in the 11th.

BATTING
2B: Pena, C (1, Beckett), Longoria 2 (2, Beckett, Beckett).
HR: Longoria (1, 1st inning off Beckett, 1 on, 2 out), Upton (1, 3rd inning off Beckett, 0 on, 1 out), Floyd (1, 4th inning off Beckett, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Iwamura; Upton 4; Pena, C 3; Longoria 8; Crawford 2; Floyd 4; Navarro; Bartlett.
RBI: Longoria 3 (3), Upton 2 (2), Crawford 2 (2), Floyd (1), Pena, C (1).
2-out RBI: Longoria 2; Crawford.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Upton.
SF: Upton.
Team LOB: 6.

BASERUNNING
SB: Upton (1, 2nd base off Beckett/Varitek).
PO: Crawford (1st base by Beckett).

FIELDING
DP: (Bartlett-Iwamura-Pena, C).
 
BostonIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Beckett 4.198815316.62
Lopez, J 0.01000000.00
Delcarmen 1.21000100.00
Okajima 2.00000100.00
Masterson 0.21000100.00
Papelbon 1.10000100.00
Timlin (L, 0-1)0.201130013.50
 
Tampa BayIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Kazmir 4.165532310.38
Balfour 0.01112016.75
Howell 1.10111206.75
Bradford (H, 1)1.14110106.75
Miller 0.00001000.00
Wheeler (BS, 1)3.11002400.00
Price (W, 1-0)0.20001100.00

Lopez, J pitched to 1 batter in the 5th.
Balfour pitched to 3 batters in the 5th.
Bradford pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.
Miller pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP: Wheeler.
IBB: Iwamura (by Timlin).
Pitches-strikes: Beckett 93-56, Lopez, J 1-1, Delcarmen 20-11, Okajima 28-17, Masterson 18-11, Papelbon 18-12, Timlin 23-10, Kazmir 98-56, Balfour 19-9, Howell 23-15, Bradford 24-16, Miller 8-4, Wheeler 48-27, Price 12-6.
Groundouts-flyouts: Beckett 2-5, Lopez, J 0-0, Delcarmen 2-2, Okajima 3-2, Masterson 1-0, Papelbon 1-2, Timlin 1-1, Kazmir 1-10, Balfour 0-0, Howell 0-2, Bradford 1-2, Miller 0-0, Wheeler 2-4, Price 1-0.
Batters faced: Beckett 22, Lopez, J 1, Delcarmen 6, Okajima 6, Masterson 3, Papelbon 4, Timlin 5, Kazmir 22, Balfour 3, Howell 5, Bradford 8, Miller 1, Wheeler 12, Price 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Lopez, J 1-1, Delcarmen 1-0, Papelbon 1-0, Howell 2-0, Bradford 1-1, Miller 1-0, Wheeler 2-1, Price 1-0.
EjectionsBoston Red Sox Pitching Coach John Farrell ejected by HP umpire Sam Holbrook. (11th).
Umpires: HP: Sam Holbrook. 1B: Brian O'Nora. 2B: Brian Gorman. 3B: Alfonso Marquez. LF: Derryl Cousins. RF: Tim McClelland.
Weather: 72 degrees, dome.
Wind: Indoors.
T: 5:27.
Att: 34,904.
October 11, 2008

Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner