Carl Crawford shines as Tampa Bay Rays defeat Boston Red Sox 8-6 – MLB Recap
Carl Crawford put in a brilliant performance as the Tampa Bay Rays beat Boston Red Sox 8-6 at Charlotte Sports Park on March 10.
The four-time All-Star Crawford is now steadily settling in with the Boston Red Sox. He had a vital role in two wins of the last three AL East championships. His latest regulation was fielding against his past team for the first time. He played nine seasons
for the Rays before marking a seven year contract of $142-million with the Red Sox in the end of 2010.
Speaking to media, Crawford said, "It's still baseball when it comes down to it. It's the same game. I just tried to make everything as normal as possible. I just try to tune them out. They were better than I expected. It really wasn't bad at all."
Crawford was paying much concentration on his fielding. It was the loudest applaud of the day when he made a plunging catch on Sam Fuld's dropping liner in left-field spot.
Spotted taunts could be heard among the clapping that welcomed him when he moved into the hitter's box during first inning. He went to the plate and struck an infield single in the sixth inning.
Crawford was the regular player for the Red Sox along with Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron to make the tour for Boston, who are listed to participate in the Rays’ camp for three more times during spring training.
Oscar Tejeda and Drew Sutton made home-runs in the ninth inning, providing the Red Sox a 6-5 lead. The Rays came together in the mid of the ninth inning, with Casey Kotchman carrying a RBI double before Robinson Chirinos finished it with a solo homer.
Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka had an uneven day out, permitting five runs and five strikes in just over three innings. However, the Rays’ Andy Sonnanstine bounced back from a pair of pitiable starts to throw four scoreless innings.
After the game, Crawford stated that, "I had a great time in Tampa. Hopefully, I won't be considered the villain some people try to make me out to be. I had a lot of fun times. I love the fans, and those are still my boys in the other clubhouse."
For the Rays, ex-Red Sox aces Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez signed to assist the failure of Crawford and Carlos Pena as a free agent.
The 29-year-old Crawford was the long-term player in Ray’s narration. He is considered as the team's career head in many departments. He had batting average of .296 with 592 RBIs, 1480 hits, 424 extra-base hits, 215 doubles, 765 runs, 105 triples and 409
stolen bases.
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