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A Heartbreaking Defeat For Rays

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By CARTER GADDIS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 13, 2007

BOSTON - Pretty soon, the Red Sox will be playing games like this against teams that have far more sophisticated pedigrees than the scrappy Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Come October, Boston's David Ortiz might very well do to the Indians or Angels or Yankees exactly what he did to the Rays on Wednesday night. This is what it means to compete in a playoff atmosphere against a playoff-caliber team: Sometimes you get your collective heart shattered, no matter how well you play.

Ortiz's two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning off closer Al Reyes lifted the Red Sox to a 5-4 victory that sent Tampa Bay's disappointed players off on a six-hour flight to the Pacific Northwest wondering what might have been.

It's not hard to look back at the three games the Rays played this week at Fenway Park and envision a three-game sweep by Tampa Bay - if things had only gone a little bit different.

'It's not easy,' Rays manager Joe Maddon said. 'But we're going to get it done. You could see the difference in our ballclub right now, based on what it's looking like now at Fenway compared to what it was earlier this season. I'm really pleased with that.

'It's getting better. It's getting better. I'm not looking for moral victories, either. But it's getting better. And I'm pleased with our guys. Very pleased.'

Monday, Scott Kazmir was his usual dominant self against the Red Sox and reliever Dan Wheeler teamed with Reyes to protect Kazmir's 1-0 victory.

Tuesday, a seven-run Rays lead turned into a 16-10 loss when their pitching imploded.

Wednesday, a four-run lead built with a four-run first against Jon Lester looked like it was going to hold up, even after Big Papi connected for a three-run homer in the third against Rays starter Edwin Jackson.

Then a combination of things went against the Rays.

First, with Lester gone, the Red Sox bullpen shut Tampa Bay down by allowing one hit in 5 1/3 innings. Second, Big Papi still plays for the Sox. And he came up at just the right moment, as seems to happen so often for Boston.

Jackson went six innings, enough to allow Maddon to set up his 'formulaic' bullpen. Gary Glover pitched a scoreless seventh. Wheeler pitched a perfect eighth.

Reyes (third blown save in 27 chances) walked Julio Lugo to begin the ninth. One out later, Ortiz lifted a high - very high - fly ball toward the short corner down the right-field line.

Rays right fielder Delmon Young broke hard toward the foul pole, but the ball drifted ... and drifted ... back toward the deeper part of the right-field corner. As Young tried to adjust, the ball landed one row deep to give Ortiz a walk-off home run and a five-RBI night.

For the second consecutive game, the Rays blew a chance to win their first series at Fenway since 1999. And for the second consecutive night, the Rays missed their chance to pull out of last place in the American League East.

Reporter Carter Gaddis can be reached at (813) 259-8291 or igaddis@tampatrib.com.

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