Boston Red Sox (39-26) @ Tampa Bay Rays (35-31)
Tim Wakefield (3-1, 4.84) @ James Shields (5.4, 2.85)
7:10 PM EDT | Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, FL)
TV: NESN, MLB Network RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510

INJURY REPORT

Boston: Bobby Jenks, left back tightness (Placed on the 15-day on DL June 8); Rich Hill, left elbow sprain (Placed on the 15-day DL on June 3, retroactive to June 2) Franklin Morales, left forearm strain (Placed on the 15-day DL on May 29, retroactive to May 26); Daisuke Matsuzaka, sprained elbow (Placed on the 15-day DL on May 17, transferred to the 60-day DL on June 3); Junichi Tazawa, right elbow surgery (placed on the 60-day DL on March 26)

Tampa Bay: Jeff Niemann, lower back strain (Placed on the 15-day DL on May 6, retroactive to May 5)

GAME NOTES

Nine wins in a row for the Red Sox and there really seems to be no way of stopping them. During the win streak they have outscored their opponents 83-36. Incredible. James Shields takes the bump for the Rays tonight. Shields has not had success against the Red Sox: he has a career 5-9 mark with an ugly 5.17 ERA against the Sox. Shields earned a no decision in his last start against the Angels. He pitched well for seven innings but came out in the eighth with a 3-0 lead and loaded the bases, all of whom scored after Shields exited the contest. Look out for Papi, Pedey and J.D. tonight: Ortiz is 12-33 (.364) against Shields with three homers and 11 RBI, Pedroia is 13-30 (.433) against him with two home runs and four RBI, and Drew is 11-35 (.314) against Shields with two home runs and six RBI.

Taking the mound for the Red Sox is the ageless wonder, Tim Wakefield. Wakes has pitched fairly well since entering the rotation. Tim earned a win in his last start against the Yankees but gave up five runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts. However, Timmy loves facing the Rays; he is 21-6 against them (his highest victory total against any team) with a career 3.78 ERA (10-4 with a 3.40 ERA at Tropicana Field). However, Timmy doesn’t like facing Johnny Damon or Evan Longoria: Damon is 20-64 (.313) against Wakefield with four home runs and 10 RBI, and Longoria is 6-13 (.462) with one homer and five RBI against him. Carl Crawford makes his first return to Tropicana Field as a member of the Red Sox – here’s hoping he gets a well-deserved ovation.

Lineups

Red Sox

  1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
  2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
  3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
  4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
  5. David Ortiz, DH
  6. Carl Crawford, LF
  7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
  8. J.D. Drew, RF
  9. Marco Scutaro, SS

Tampa Bay

  1. Johnny Damon, DH
  2. Ben Zobrist, 2B
  3. Matt Joyce, RF
  4. Evan Longoria, 3B
  5. Casey Kotchman, 1B
  6. B.J. Upton, CF
  7. John Jaso, C
  8. Justin Ruggiano, LF
  9. Reid Brignac, SS

Fun Facts

– Jacoby Ellsbury was named American League Player of the Week (for the week ending June 12). For the week, Ells hit .467 with one home run, three doubles, four RBI and 10 runs scored. That makes the third straight Red Sox to win the award (Carl Crawford and David Ortiz proceeded Ellsbury in receiving the honor).

– The Red Sox are 20-7 (.606) on the road this year, good for second in the Majors (the Marlins are 17-11, .607). The Sox lead the Major Leagues with 44 road home runs and 232 extra-base hits.

– I lived in St. Petersburg during the (Devil) Rays inaugural season and no one was able to explain this to me – why don’t the Rays paint the roof of Tropicana Field orange? is it an FAA thing or an MLB thing?

– On June 14, 1968, Ken Harrelson homered in three consecutive at-bats. The Hawk drove in all seven runs in a 7-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

– And for today’s Totally Untrue Fun Fact: Wade Boggs has a stool named in his honor at Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill.