Boston Red Sox humble Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 – MLB Spring Training
Boston Red Sox humbled Tampa Bay Rays 8-4 at the Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Florida on Sunday, March 18 in their Grapefruit League clash of the 2012 Major League Baseball Spring Training Session.
Clay Buchholz looked much focused as he gave up just one run and four hits over five innings pitched. Only Evan Longoria managed to get a run off him that came in form of second inning home run. The starter pitched with great control and accuracy as he struck
out four and walked one.
"You've got a bunch of big-name guys in this lineup, and they've been really good for the last three or four years," Buchholz said. "So, it's definitely tough to go out there and try to work on things and make good pitches consistently to these guys."
"You know, at first they didn't. They weren't on the same page because they didn't realize that Clay just wanted to throw more changeups today and less curveballs in the first inning," Valentine said. "He worked real good, and other than the back-to-back
changeups to Longoria and the fastball that everybody knew was coming."
For Rays, Matt Moore proved to be extremely expensive as he allowed four runs, two hits and three walks in just over two innings.
With their win over the Rays, the Red Sox have now improved their spring win-loss record to 9-4. The Red Sox have looked in commanding form since the start of Spring Training. Executing their strategies to perfection, they are now reaping rewards for their
hard work in pre spring training work outs.
Having defeated their arch rivals New York Yankees in a spring game last week, the Red Sox’s confidence is looking sky-high. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain their incredible form in regular season.
The Rays, on the other hand, will be looking to identify flaws in their game plan. With just four wins in fourteen games this spring, things are not looking bright for Joe Maddon’s side. The Rays will be looking to rectify their problems to bounce back strongly
in second half of this spring.
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