Boston Red Sox defeat Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 – MLB Update
Boston Red Sox defeated Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Thursday, May 17 in the second game of their two match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Cody Ross walked and Mike Aviles scored in the first inning to let the Red Sox take a 1-0 lead. Marlon Byrd homered in the second to double Red Sox’s advantage to 2-0. Ross looked extremely comfortable on the mound as he added a solo home run in the third
to help the Red Sox take complete control of the situation.
For the Rays, J Keppinger singled to left and B.J Upton drove in two runs but the effort did not prove to be enough.
"I was going after this game tonight," Boston manager Bobby Valentine said. "The guys really wanted this game, and I was just going to do everything we could to win it. Just frustration (from Wednesday's loss), and we wanted to get back into the winning
ways."
"We always have pretty good series against the Rays," Boston shortstop Mike Aviles said. "The fact they won (Wednesday) in a close game, and another close game today, it's definitely good to get that win. Bobby did the right thing mixing and matching later
in the game."
Bobby Valentine and company will be very pleased with the way they handled pressure situations in a game that was played on an extremely competitive note. Throughout the season, the Red Sox have struggled to deliver the goods in crunch situations. The mental
skills coach will have to work extremely hard with the players to help them avoid fear of winning.
There have been many occasions, when the Red Sox found themselves with controls in hand but they instantly retreated. Whenever they are in an unfamiliar territory, they struggle to seize the opportunity. The season has just begun for the Red Sox and they
will surely improve with each passing game.
Boston’s fans will also love to see their team giving results on regular basis. The last time the Red Sox won the World Series title was in 2007 and it will be interesting to see if they can have another successful season this year.
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