7:10 PM ET, July 25, 2014
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
Associated Press
Rays Extend Winning Streak To Eight
Price won his sixth start in a row, Evan Longoria hit a three-run double and the Rays earned their eighth straight victory by beating the Boston Red Sox 6-4 on Friday night.
"A little bit of the swagger is back," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said.
The Red Sox lost their fourth consecutive game.
More from ESPN.com
David
Price and Jon Lester faced off Friday night amid a time when both don't
know what the future holds for them, Diane Firstman writes. Story"Wonderful once again," Maddon said.
This was Price's first game against Boston since he hit David Ortiz with a fastball May 30, setting off a verbal skirmish between the stars.
There was no trouble between them this time as Ortiz returned to the lineup one day after leaving a game because of back spasms.
"It's feeling better," Ortiz said. "After what we did last night and today when I got up and took some medication, it felt much better."
Ortiz had words with plate umpire Bill Miller during an early strikeout, then hit an RBI single in a two-run sixth for a 3-2 Red Sox lead.
"It definitely felt good," Price said of striking out Ortiz. "He's a tough out always."
Price has pitched at least eight innings in eight of his past nine starts.
Price Is Right
No pitcher has more 10-strikeout games with zero walks over the past
three seasons than Rays ace David Price, who did it again Friday night.
Here's a look:
| Pitcher | No. of Times |
|---|---|
| David Price | 7 * |
| Cliff Lee | 7 |
| Felix Hernandez | 6 |
| Madison Bumgarner | 5 |
| * 10 K's, 0 BBs Friday vs. Red Sox -- ESPN Stats & Information | |
"We've won some games and we've done some things that kind of remind us of what we're capable of, but by no means are we where we want to be," Longoria said. "We've got a lot of work to do."
Tampa Bay improved to three games under .500 for the first time since May 6.
Jake McGee gave up a run in the ninth but got his 10th save.
Desmond Jennings hit a two-run homer in the fifth off Boston starter Jon Lester for a 2-1 lead.
Lester gave up two runs and six hits in six innings. He had allowed just one earned run over 31 innings in his previous four starts.
"We made David work pretty hard, but he was able to get a lot more early-out counts than I was, and that's why he was able to go a couple more innings," Lester said.
The crowd greeted Ortiz with sustained booing before his first at-bat in the first. The fans then gave Price a partial standing ovation after Ortiz took a called third strike.
"Our fans were pretty hot," Maddon said. "They came out with a little attitude. We dug it."
Shane Victorino connected in the second for the 20th home run allowed this season by Price. Victorino also singled home Ortiz in the sixth.
Game notes
Zobrist had infield singles in each of his first three at-bats. ... Rays OF Wil Myers (broken right wrist) hopes to take batting practice in four or five days. He could return in mid-August. ... Tampa Bay reliever Joel Peralta (illness) could come off the DL early next week. He will pitch for Class A Charlotte on Saturday. ... Rays C Ryan Hanigan (left oblique strain) ran the bases after defensive drills. ... Boston C Ryan Lavarnway (wrist) was sent to Triple-A Pawtucket to continue his rehab assignment. ... Tampa Bay plans to recall RHP Jeremy Hellickson (elbow surgery) from Charlotte to make his second big league start of the season Saturday night. The Red Sox will counter with RHP John Lackey.
Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press
Game Information
| Stadium | Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL |
| Attendance | 23,136 (67.9% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:04 |
| Weather | indoors |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Bill Miller, First Base - Chad Fairchild, Second Base - Vic Carapazza, Third Base - Marcus Pattillo |
Research Notes
Tonight
you have 3 talented lefties and 3 talented righties on the mound in
MLB...could be a good opportunity for a "who would you take"
segment...would you want the lefties or the righties, etc...
The Lefties: David Price, Jon Lester and Mark Buehrle
The Righties: Tim Lincecum, Zack Greinke and Felix Hernandez
[+] |
Evan Longoria
is hitting .193 this season in at-bats ending with a pitch on the inner
third of the plate or closer, well below the league average of .263 and
his lowest mark in a season since 2011 (.245). Jon Lester leads all qualifiers in percentage of pitches thrown in that zone to righties this season (49.9 percent).
|
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