Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox – 2012 MLB Series Review
Tampa Bay Rays faced Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Friday, July 13 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Rays entered the series with a decent 45-42 record and they were looking to consolidate their position at the top of American League East Division standings table but the Red Sox had other ideas.
Taking complete advantage of their opponents unforced errors, the Red Sox secured a comfortable 3-1 win in series opener. David Ortiz homered to right and Pedro Ciriaco drove in a crucial run in the second inning.
In the sixth inning, Sean Rodriguez hit a double to get the Rays’ only run of the game. Starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson gave up five hits and three runs in just six innings to take his sixth loss of the season.
"He pitched well. We just didn't score enough runs to make him look good. ... When you only score one run, your mistakes are glaring," Joe Maddon said.
His counterpart from Boston, Franklin Morales pitched five effective inning for his second win.
"It was nine innings of really good pitching," Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said. "Franklin Morales gave us five really strong innings. Put up the zeroes."
Tampa Bay fought back strongly in Game 2 to keep the series alive. Showing great fighting spirit and mental toughness, Maddon and company secured a much needed 5-3 win on July 14. Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly to centre in the third to break the deadlock
and put the Rays 1-0 ahead.
The Red Sox responded immediately with Will Middlebrooks hitting a two run home-run to help his side comeback from behind for a 2-1 lead.
Joe Molina scored on an error by Boston’s shortstop Mike Aviles and Jose Lobaton walked in the seventh to level score as the match entered a very critical phase.
Erik Johnson had a sacrifice fly hit to centre in the seventh and B.J. Upton homered to left in the eighth to wrap up an impressive Rays’ victory.
"We have been talking about it. We have to work better at-bats," Maddon added. "It's about moving the baseball. It's about accepting your walks. It's more than just about getting hits. Sometimes it's about not making an out."
However, despite having the momentum on their side, the Rays crashed to a humiliating 3-7 defeat in series finale. For the Red Sox, Mike Aviles and Daniel Nava hit back-to-back home-runs.
Cody Ross and Will Middlebrooks also made useful contributions to stack up a big total on the board. Rays’ starter James Shields had a horrible time on the mounds he gave up 11 hits and six runs to take his sixth loss of the season.
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