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

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Garza eager to quiet Fenway crowd

Jason Beck / MLB.com
Matt Garza drew a fair amount of attention for his earplugs as well as his pitching in his ALDS start against the White Sox. If he can quiet the Fenway Park faithful in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series, he'll give the Rays a chance to recapture the advantage in the series.
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Rays probable pitcher

Matt Garza

  • #22 RHP
  • (0-0) -.-- ERA 0 SO
Garza watched a fine start unravel in Game 3 of the Division Series, as the right-hander ran into trouble in the fourth inning at Chicago's U.S. Cellular Field and paid dearly for it. The Rays were unable to back Garza, who allowed seven hits and five earned runs in a loss. Still, the 25-year-old pitched well and will look to pick up his first career postseason win. Garza has arguably the best stuff on the Rays rotation, and if he can keep his emotions in check, he is a force to be reckoned with. He is a career 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA against the Red Sox.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 19-22 4.02 317.2 114 233 .267
Season 11-9 3.70 184.2 59 128 .245
Vs. Boston 1-1 4.50 22.0 7 10 .250

Series at a Glance

Standings - 10/13/2008 W L PCT GB Home Away
Tampa Bay Rays (AL East) 97 65 .599 - 57-24 40-41
Boston Red Sox (AL East) 95 67 .586 2.0 56-25 39-42
Stats - 10/13/2008 AVG R HR RBI SB SO ERA IP H BB SO
TB .260 774 180 735 142 1224 3.82 1457.2 1349 526 1143
BOS .280 845 173 807 120 1068 4.01 1446.1 1369 548 1185
bos

Lester aims for quality start

Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
Daisuke Matsuzaka has 18 victories and thrilling high-wire acts, while Josh Beckett carries a postseason resume worthy of praise.
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Red Sox probable pitcher

Jon Lester

  • #31 LHP
  • (0-0) -.-- ERA 0 SO
The lefty has been nothing short of magnificent of late. After earning American League Pitcher of the Month honors in September, Lester posted a 0.00 ERA in 14 innings against the Angels in the Division Series. He earned the win in Game 1 and left Game 2 with a 2-0 lead after seven innings. In three career postseason starts, Lester hasn't allowed an earned run. Lester was a Fenway Park force this season, going 11-1 with a 2.49 ERA in 17 starts. Against the Rays this season, Lester was dominant, going 3-0 with an 0.90 ERA in three stats.
  W-L ERA IP BB SO AVG
Career 27-8 3.81 354.2 140 262 .265
Season 16-6 3.21 210.1 66 152 .256
Vs. Tampa Bay 3-0 0.90 20.0 6 19 .240

Rays hitters vs Jon Lester
Regular Season stats only

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI

Red Sox hitters vs Matt Garza
Regular Season stats only

  2008 2003-2007
Hitter AVG AB HR RBI AVG AB HR RBI

Going Green: Homers fuel Rays (2-1) (1-2)

Rays 9, Red Sox 1

Garza stymies Sox

Bill Chastain / MLB.com
Righty Matt Garza quieted the Sox, and B.J. Upton and Rocco Baldelli each hit three-run homers over the Green Monster as the Rays were all business in Boston. Evan Longoria tied a rookie record with his fourth playoff homer.

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Series at a Glance

 

Stranded at home

Ian Browne / MLB.com
The defending-champion Red Sox are suddenly stuck in rally mode at Fenway Park as starter Jon Lester was rocked early and Boston's bats managed only a seventh-inning sac fly from Jacoby Ellsbury in a second successive loss.
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Rays 9, Red Sox 1

Tampa BayABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Iwamura, 2B5120011.308
Upton, CF5123011.308
Pena, C, 1B5121011.333
Longoria, 3B4211112.308
Crawford, LF5010022.308
Aybar, W, DH4020010.286
  1-Perez, F, PR-DH0100000.000
Navarro, C4111003.167
Baldelli, RF3113112.333
  Gross, RF0000000.000
Bartlett, SS4110012.167
Totals3991392914 


1-Ran for Aybar, W in the 8th.

BATTING
2B: Iwamura 2 (2, Lester, Byrd).
HR: Upton (2, 3rd inning off Lester, 2 on, 0 out), Longoria (2, 3rd inning off Lester, 0 on, 1 out), Baldelli (1, 8th inning off Byrd, 2 on, 1 out), Pena, C (1, 9th inning off Byrd, 0 on, 1 out).
TB: Iwamura 4; Upton 5; Pena, C 5; Longoria 4; Crawford; Aybar, W 2; Navarro; Baldelli 4; Bartlett.
RBI: Navarro (1), Upton 3 (5), Longoria (4), Baldelli 3 (3), Pena, C (2).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Baldelli; Iwamura; Crawford; Longoria.
Team LOB: 5.

BASERUNNING
SB: Pena, C (1, 2nd base off Lester/Varitek).

FIELDING
DP: (Longoria-Iwamura-Pena, C).
 
BostonABRHRBIBBSOLOBAVG
Ellsbury, CF3001000.000
Pedroia, 2B3020101.545
Ortiz, DH4000013.000
Youkilis, 3B4000022.429
Drew, RF4010020.250
Bay, LF3010111.455
Kotsay, 1B4020001.214
Varitek, C3100113.000
Cora, SS4010002.250
Totals321713713 

BATTING
2B: Pedroia (1, Garza), Kotsay (2, Garza).
TB: Pedroia 3; Drew; Bay; Kotsay 3; Cora.
RBI: Ellsbury (1).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Youkilis; Cora 2.
SF: Ellsbury.
GIDP: Pedroia.
Team LOB: 8.

FIELDING
PB: Varitek (1).
 
Tampa BayIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Garza (W, 1-0)6.06113501.50
Howell 2.01000202.70
Jackson 1.00000000.00
 
BostonIPHRERBBSOHRERA
Lester (L, 0-1)5.28542726.35
Byrd 3.154402210.80

Garza pitched to 2 batters in the 7th.

Pitches-strikes: Garza 116-63, Howell 20-14, Jackson 14-8, Lester 96-60, Byrd 47-29.
Groundouts-flyouts: Garza 5-8, Howell 3-1, Jackson 1-2, Lester 6-3, Byrd 5-3.
Batters faced: Garza 27, Howell 6, Jackson 3, Lester 26, Byrd 15.
Inherited runners-scored: Howell 2-1, Byrd 1-0.
Umpires: HP: Brian O'Nora. 1B: Brian Gorman. 2B: Alfonso Marquez. 3B: Derryl Cousins. LF: Tim McClelland. RF: Sam Holbrook.
Weather: 59 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 10 mph, R to L.
T: 3:23.
Att: 38,031.
October 13, 2008

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