Red Sox 3, Rays 2: Rodney is human

Posted May 26, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 26, 2012 at 11:57 PM

ROGER MOONEY
BOSTON Well, it as bound to happen.

Fernando Rodney blew a save this season proving not only that he is human but that a 97 mph fastball left over the plate can go a long way if the right hitter is up, and for the Red sox, that hitter was Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Salty drilled the ball into the Red Sox bullpen in the bottom of the ninth for a two-run homer that lifted the Red Sox to a 3-2 victory.

It was the first blown save of the year for Rodney, who also allowed his first home in 52 appearances.

It was the first walk-off homer for Saltalamacchia, and the first pinch-hit, walk-off homer for the Red Sox since Wes Chamberlin did it May 9, 1995.

Here are some other gems from the game …

—B.J. Upton is now tied for the American League-lead in outfield assists with five after throwing out Dustin Pedroia at the plate in the sixth inning.

Upton also extended his hitting streak to nine games when he singled to start the seventh. A hit today and Upton matches his career-longest hit streak.

—David Price allowed one run in his seven innings. He has held the Red Sox to one home run and a .196 batting average in six career starts at Fenway.

It was the fifth straight start of at least seven innings for Price. This is the second time he’s done that in his career.

—Luke Scott, playing with a bruise on the back of his right knee after getting drilled Friday night, singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning off Red Sox starter Josh Beckett. Scott is batting .407 with three home runs and eight RBI against Beckett for his career.

Scott also stole second base. It was his first steal of the year. He has only four steals since 2008.

—Jose Molina ended his nine-game hitless streak with a third inning single. The slide included 19 at-bats.

—The Red Sox moved back to .500 for the fourth time this season with their 11th win in their last 15 games. They have yet to have a winning record this year.

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Bobby V calls out Rays coaches

Posted May 26, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 26, 2012 at 06:39 PM

ROGER MOONEY
BOSTON Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine had some interesting things to say about the fallout from Friday’s bench-clearing shoving match during the ninth Friday night.

Here is some highlights from his pregame presser:

Did he interpret Joe Maddon’s postgame comments as a shot at him?
“Is that how they do it there when they throw at our guys? It comes from the coaches, you mean? I don’t’ know how things are done on their side and I don’t think they know how things are done on our side… whatever.”

Odd that Maddon called out Valentine’s coaching staff?
“Is that odd? I don’t know. I don’t know what’s odd.”
 
If a guy hit tonight, less or more relevant?
“I don’t know. I think you go on a case by case situation. Guys get hit all the time.
I can’t predict the future. I don’t know what the temperature of the game will be whenever something like that happens.”

Are the Red Sox more inspired?
“We’ve been pretty inspired. We’ve played a pretty good brand of baseball. We’ve got a tough customer that we’re going up against and I think we have a tough customer that they’re going to try to hit against so it should be a good baseball game. … Yesterday was kind of like baseball. That was kind of lost in the shuffle. That seemed to be baseball.”
 
Coaches being so involved?
“I thought their coaches were really aggressive and as a matter of fact I took offense to the aggressiveness of their coaches. I thought it was very unprofessional and I really was proud of the way my coaches were trying to do what they were supposed to do in those situations. They seemed very immature and out of control.”

Was it immature and out of control?
“Coaches are supposed to try to stop things from happening and their coaches were actually aggravating and agitating and instigating.”

Talk to Maddon before game?
“I don’t think so. I didn’t yesterday. I like Joe, by the way.”

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Rays @ BoSox: On Bobby V, Maddon and the organist

Posted May 26, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 26, 2012 at 06:29 PM

ROGER MOONEY
BOSTON It’s getting interesting here at Fenway Park.

First Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine accuses the Rays coaches of being too aggressive during Friday night’s bench-clearing altercation between the two teams.

“I thought their coaches were really aggressive and as a matter of fact I took offense to the aggressiveness of their coaches. I thought it was very unprofessional and I really was proud of the way my coaches were trying to do what they were supposed to do in those situations. They seemed very immature and out of control.”

Of course, Joe Maddon said the same thing Friday about the Red Sox coaches.

Then Maddon goes out of his way to talk about “how much respect he has for the Red Sox players.”

Then B.J. Upton sets up a beatbox next to the batting cage because Fenway Park suddenly goes silent when the Rays take BP.

Then the Fenway Park organist belts out Shannon’s smash 1980s hit, “Let the Music Play.” You know the one …

“We started dancing and love put us into a groove
As soon as we started to move …”

Followed, of course, by the can’t get it out of your head chorus …

“Let the music play, he won’t get away
Just keep the groove and then he’ll come back to you again
Let it play
Let the music play, he won’t get away
This groove he can’t ignore, he won’t leave you anymore”

Ah yes, it can be a hot time in the Old Towne tonight as the Rays and Red Sox resume this three-game series that say a bench-clearing dustup during the ninth if the Rays 7-4 win Friday.

Maddon said he expects the umpires to issue warnings.

Luke Scott, wearing a bruise behind his right knee courtesy of a 97 mph fastball from Franklin Morales is in the lineup.

David Price faces Josh Beckett.

The game will be televised cost-to-cost by Fox.

This could get interesting.

Heck, even the organist is ready to mix it up.

Here are the lineups:

RAYS
Peña 1B
Upton CF
Joyce LF
Zobrist RF
Scott DH
Sutton 3B
Rodriguez 2B
Molina C
Johnson SS
—
Price LHP (6-3, 2.88)

RED SOX
Aviles SS
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Youkilis 1B
Gonzalez RF
Middlebrooks 3B
Nava LF
Shoppach C
Byrd CF
—
Beckett RHP (4-4, 4.38)

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Rays-Red Sox, Round II: Can Rays afford a beanball war?

Posted May 26, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 26, 2012 at 03:45 PM

ROGER MOONEY
BOSTON Getting ready for Rays-Red Sox Round II here at Fenway Park.

After last night’s ninth inning dustup when Red Sox reliever Franklin Morales threw behind then hit Luke Scott, it will be interesting to see how the teams respond tonight in front of a Fox TV national audience.

Rays manager Joe Maddon didn’t hide his disgust for Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine after the Rays 7-4 victory.

“Quite frankly I think it was ridiculous, and I think it’s absurd, idiotic, and all those different words,” Maddon said.

“I’m kind of curious as to who put out the hit, because I know it wasn’t one of their players by the way their players reacted to the entire situation. It’s kind of incompetent behavior. It’s the kind of behavior that gets people hurt,” Maddon said.

“We don’t initiate anything, I promise you that. It’s not what we’re about. I like to believe we handle ourselves in a classier manner than that. … But we will respond to others who do attempt to do it to us. I promise you that, too,” Maddon said.

Those are fighting words, or at least pitcher throwing at batter words, and with Red Sox fire-baller Josh Beckett on the mound, anything is possible.

But will Rays starter David Price throw at a Red Sox?

And can the Rays risk the suspension that could come from a bean ball war? Maddon points to the ones handed out after the Rays and Red Sox went at it in June 2008 when he talks about all the injuries and adversity his team had to fight through that year.

With 10 players currently on the disabled list, can the Rays risk losing another player or players?

We’ll find out.

Game time is 7:15 p.m. on Fox.

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Rays @ BoSox: Guyer out for the season, Jennings close to returning and lineups

Posted May 25, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 25, 2012 at 06:09 PM

ROGER MOONEY
BOSTON OF Brandon Guyer will miss the rest of the season because of a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Guyer, on the DL since May 16 with what was believed to be a shoulder strain sustained while taking batting practice in Baltimore on May 13, will miss the rest of the season.

In other injury news, LF Desmond Jennings (left knee sprain) will begin a minor league rehab assignment by the middle of next week.

Carlos Peña will bat leadoff tonight against the Red Sox at Fenway Park for the third straight game. Joe Maddon moved Sean Rodriguez from third to second base and will play Drew Sutton at third.

Alex Cobb makes his second start of the season. He will be opposed by BoSox lefty Jon Lester.

The Rays begin the night one-game behind the first place Orioles.

Here are the lineups:

RAYS
Peña 1B
Upton CF
Scott DH
Zobrist RF
Joyce LF
Rodriguez 2B
Sutton 3B
Gimenez C
Johnson SS
—
Cobb RHP (1-0, 2.57)

RED SOX
Aviles SS
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Gonzalez 1B
Youkilis 3B
Saltalamacchia C
Nava LF
Byrd RF
Podsednick CF
—
Lester LHP (3-3, 3.95)

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Rays at BoSox: Rivalry renewed

Posted May 25, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 25, 2012 at 08:07 AM

ROGER MOONEY
BOSTON This weekend series between the Rays and Red Sox could be billed as the battle of survivors.

The Rays have 10 players on the disabled list while the Red Sox have 13.

Brandon Allen (right quad strain) is eligible to come off the disabled list today and could rejoin the team this weekend.

Desmond Jennings (left knee sprain) is eligible to come off the disabled list Sunday, but won’t because he needs a few at-bats in minor league games to get ready.

There was talk Hideki Matsui would join the team on this road trip, but that went away with Matsui’s slow start at Durham. He’s batting .121 in nine games

Alex Cobb makes his Fenway Park debut tonight as the Rays open a three-game series in Boston. A native of Boston, Cobb and his family moved to Vero Beach when he was 2. He visited family in New England every summer and usually found his way to Fenway Park.

A Red Sox fan as a kid, a former spring training bat boy for the Dodgers at Dodgertown, Cobb now gets to face his boyhood team.

Cobb, who made his season debut with seven strong innings against the Braves last Saturday and picked up the win in the 5-2 victory, will be opposed by Jon Lester (3-3, 3.95). Lester is 10-6 with a 3.91 ERA in his career against the Rays.

B.J. Upton brings a .300 batting average into tonight’s game, his highest average at this point of the season since June 10, 2008.

The Red Sox, even without the services of Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury (two of the baker’s dozen on the DL), have won 10 of their last 13.

The Rays are scuffling a little, having won eight of their last 16 games.

The Rays begin the day one game back of the first-place Orioles.

The Red Sox are last in the division with a 22-22 record, 5 ½ back of the O’s. The Red Sox have yet to break .500 this year.

The Red Sox took three of the four games against the Rays at Fenway back in April. The teams split a two-game series at the Trop last week.

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The Nerds head north

Posted May 24, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 24, 2012 at 07:08 PM

ROGER MOONEY
Elliot Johnson (above) and Joel Peralta (below) displayed their inner nerd this afternoon before boarding the Rays charter flight to Boston.

Joe Maddon thought up the Ken Rosenthal/Nerd road trip theme to raise money for BowTie Cause, a philanthropic initiative started by former NFL linebacker Dhani Jones.

Rosenthal, the Fox baseball reporter, wears a bow tie to raise money for charities.

The BowTie Cause donated $100 per bow tie for 30 ties, raising $3,000 to benefit 18 charities.

Rosenthal, who is in Boston in anticipation of Fox’s broadcast of the Rays-Red Sox on Saturday night, tweeted he will meet the Rays plane and judge the nerdiest Ray.

To see a gallery of the nerdy Rays, click here.

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Train and O.A.R. added to summer concert series

Posted May 24, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 24, 2012 at 02:40 PM

Two more musical acts have joined the list of performers to take the stage at Tropicana Field this summer as part of the Rays Summer Concert Series.

Train returns for the second time and will perform at the conclusion of the Rays-Red Sox game on Friday, July 13.

O.A.R. will perform after the Rays-Athletics game on Friday, August 24. 

Other acts scheduled to perform are LL COOL J (June 2 vs. BAL); ZZ Top, 3 Doors Down and Gretchen Wilson (June 17 vs. MIA); Earth Wind & Fire (June 30 vs. DET); and The Wiggles (August 5 vs. BAL).

The concerts are free with the purchase of that date’s game ticket.  Fans can watch the concerts on the field by purchasing field access passes available at raysbaseball.com/concerts.

Train – July 13, Rays vs. Boston Red Sox, 7:10 p.m.
Formed in 1994 in San Francisco, Calif., Train is best known for their hit singles “Meet Virginia,” “Calling All Angels,” “Hey, Soul Sister” and most recently “Drive By.”  The band consists of lead vocalist Pat Monahan, drummer Scott Underwood and guitarist Jimmy Stafford.  Train has won three Grammy Awards, including Best Rock Song in 2002 and two Billboard Music Awards.  Their self-titled debut album was certified platinum while the song “Meet Virginia” became a Top 40 hit.  In 2001, Train released their single “Drops of Jupiter,” which remained in the Top 40 for nearly 40 weeks and helped their second album sell more than 3-million copies.  Train’s third album, My Private Nation went platinum largely due to their successful single, “Calling All Angels” which was the band’s third Top 20 hit.  In 2009, Train released “Hey, Soul Sister” from their album Save Me, San Francisco.  Train’s most recent album California 37 was released in early 2012 and their first single “Drive By” is currently climbing up the Billboard Top 100 charts.  “Drive By” marks Train’s third Hot 100 Top 10.

O.A.R. – August 24, Rays vs. Oakland Athletics, 7:10 p.m.
O.A.R. released their seventh studio album, King, in August 2011.  It debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard charts, making it their highest debut to date.  Since forming the band in 1996, O.A.R. has remained true to the basic principles of song writing and performing live for masses of faithful fans dating back to their start at Ohio State University.  They’ve produced several studio hits including “That Was A Crazy Game of Poker,” “Night Shift” and “Love and Memories,” which was performed at the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby in 2006.  King has a strong act to follow as 2008’s All Sides produced the band’s first ever certified platinum single “Shattered” and earned them a spot on performing songwriter’s list of the 100 Most Influential Independent Artists of the Past 15 Years.

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Rays 5, Jays 4 (11): Another walk-off win

Posted May 23, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 23, 2012 at 06:33 PM

ROGER MOONEY
ST. PETERSBURG The Rays held another one of those on-field celebrations Wednesday afternoon, a gathering near second where B.J. Upton stopped after driving home Rich Thompson with the winning run during the 11th inning of the Rays 5-4 victory against the Blue Jays at the Trop.

It was the fourth walk-off win of the season for the Rays and the 12th in their last 54 home games.

It was the fifth walk-off hit of Upton’s career, four of which have come against the Blue Jays.

The win enabled the Rays to complete the .500 homestand with two straight wins and pick up a game on the first place Orioles, who now lead the AL East by one game.

Here are some notes from the victory:

—Upton extended his hitting streak to seven games. He’s batting .448 during that span with two home runs, four doubles, four RBI, five stolen bases and a .793 slugging percentage.

—James Shields completed seven innings for the first time since April 21 against the Twins. He allowed a solo home run in the first inning to Jose Bautista. It was the fifth time in 10 starts he has allowed a first inning run.

Shields recorded 22 swinging strikes, his most since tossing a complete game May 11, 2011 against the Marlins. Of those swings and misses, 14 came on changeups.

—Carlos Peña is batting 3-for-8 with a home run, three RBI, two walks, three runs and a hit-by-pitch in his two games at the leadoff spot.

—Drew Sutton made his first career start as a cleanup hitter and was 2-for-4 with a two-run double in the first inning and a two-out, infield single in the ninth.

—Joel Peralta suffered his third blown save of the season. He has allowed five home runs this year.

—The Rays are 10-5 in series finales this season … They are 2-1 in extra-inning games. Since 2007, the Rays are a major league-best 45-23 in extra-inning games … The Rays are 11-3 in one-run games, the second-best mark in the majors.

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Rays v Jays: Pena at leadoff, Sutton hits cleanup

Posted May 23, 2012 by Roger Mooney

Updated May 23, 2012 at 12:33 PM

ROGER MOONEY
ST. PETERSBURG The Rays will try to finish off this homestand with two straight wins when they play the Blue Jays this afternoon.

James Shields looks for his seventh win of the season.

Carlos Peña remains at the leadoff spot.

Ben Zobrist and Sean Rodriguez not starting. That’s Joe Maddon’s plan to get them two straight days off since tomorrow is an off day.

That means Drew Sutton is in the lineup and batting cleanup.

Here are the lineups:

JAYS
Johnson 2B
Escobar SS
Bautista RF
Encarnacion DH
Arencibia C
Thames LF
Lawrie 3B
Rasmus CF
Gomes 1B
—
Romero LHP (5-1, 3.64)

RAYS
Peña 1B
Upton CF
Joyce RF
Sutton 3B
Johnson SS
Rhymes 2B
Gimenez C
Thompson LF
—
Shields RHP (6-2, 3.77)

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