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Rays, Red Sox square off at Fenway

Sat 3rd, May 2008

(Sports Network) - American League East foes continue their weekend series at Fenway Park as the Boston Red Sox play host to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tampa Bay recently swept a three-game set from Boston at Tropicana Field from April 25-27, outscoring the defending World Series champions by a 10-5 margin. Last night, however, the Red Sox captured the first of this three-game series by a 7-3 final in front of the home crowd.

In that victory, Dustin Pedroia finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored as Boston used a big fourth inning to top Tampa.

Brandon Moss was 2-for-4 with a home run for the Red Sox, who didn't let a two-hour, 27-minute rain delay at the start of the contest dampen the first win over their division rivals this season. The Rays recorded a three-game sweep over the Sox last weekend in Tampa.

Jason Varitek also collected two hits and an RBI, while David Ortiz and Jacoby Ellsbury each knocked in a run.

Clay Buchholz (2-2) scattered five hits and one run over 5 1/3 innings, fanning six and walking four.

Carl Crawford had a pair of hits and an RBI for the Rays, who had won eight of nine coming in. Akinori Iwamura also knocked in a run while Jason Bartlett added two hits and scored twice.

Tampa starter Edwin Jackson (2-3), who held the Sox in check in a 2-1 win against Buchholz last Saturday, was shelled in the loss for nine hits and six runs over four-plus innings.

Tonight's game features a pitching rematch from Sunday's game that was won by Tampa. In that contest, the Rays' James Shields was dominant, pitching a two- hit shutout, while facing a mere 29 batters. He is now 3-1 this season with a 2.54 ERA for the surprising Tampa team.

Shields is 1-2 in his career against Boston, but his 3.26 ERA against the Red Sox is solid.

Although Boston ace Josh Beckett took the loss in Sunday's clash, he was extremely impressive as well. The hard-throwing righty had a career-high 13 strikeouts in that clash and permitted only four hits and one earned run in seven innings. He is now 2-2 on the season with a 4.10 ERA and hopes the home crowd will be the difference this evening.

Beckett is 3-3 all-time against Tampa with a 3.72 ERA, and he has 51 strikeouts in 38.2 innings against the Rays.

Boston is 3-1 so far on a six-game homestand and 12-5 as the host in 2008.

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