Struggling Tampa Bay Rays fall short to Boston Red Sox 3-7 – MLB Update
Struggling Tampa Bay Rays fell short to Boston Red Sox 3-7 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Sunday, July 15 in the finale of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Credit should be given to the Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett who pitched with great control and precision to grab his fifth win of the season. Beckett gave up three runs on eight hits in six effective innings to play a key role in deciding the outcome
of the clash.
Rays’ starting pitcher James Shields, on the other hand, did not have a successful time on the mound as he struggled to control his fastballs. It was the fourth straight time Shields had allowed ten or more hits and it will be interesting to see if he can
regroup himself before his next appearance.
"I'm just not making my pitches," Boston’s starter Shields said in a post game interview. "That's all. I've got to do a better job of making my pitches. Of course it's frustrating. I'm not doing my job right now. The bottom line is I've got to get better."
After the Red Sox had taken an early 1-0 lead, Ben Zobrist provided Tampa Bay with the momentum. He reached on infield single to pitcher and Will Rhymes scored to tie the score 1-1. Desmond Jennings was also determined to put his team in a superior position
and he singled to centre in the first to extend Rays’ lead to 3-1.
"I think the comment that I made early, he made a big issue out of and I don't think he wanted to get over it," Valentine said Sunday.
"I like the way we're coming together," Valentine said.
Bobby Valentine and company were not prepared to give up though. Mike Aviles homered to centre in the second and Daniel Nava drove in a single run shot in the fifth inning to change the complexion of the game. Will Middlebrooks and Cody Ross also drove in
important runs in the fifth and the sixth as the Red Sox completed their emphatic series win.
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