G27: Red Sox 7, Rays 4

Rays    - 000 001 102 - 4  8  0
Red Sox - 000 015 01x - 7 13  1

Big hits from the bottom of the order sparked Boston's sixth-inning rally and John Lackey (8-6-2-1-5, 112) pitched yet another excellent game.

Mike Napoli and Jonny Gomes both walked to open the sixth against reliever Brandon Gomes. After Xander Bogaerts flied to left, Rays manager called in Juan Carlos Oviedo from the pen. A.J. Pierzynski's hard single to right scored Napoli, snapping a 1-1 tie. Will Middlebrooks's double off the Wall made it 2-1 and Jackie Bradley's double to dead center field gave Boston a 5-1 lead. One out later, Shane Victorino (who went 4-for-4) doubled home JBJ.

The Red Sox got on the board first in the fifth. Middlebrooks walked and went to third on Bradley's first double of the night. After Dustin Pedroia lined to third (and Middlebrooks just made it back to the back before Evan Longoria could tag the bag), Victorino hit a sacrifice fly to center.

Tampa tied it up within six pitches. Desmond Jennings doubled with one out, went to third on Matt Joyce's single and scored on Longoria's sac fly.

Boston added an insurance run on three consecutive one-out singles from Pedroia, Victorino and David Ortiz.

The Rays scored twice against Edward Mujica in the ninth before Koji Uehara came in and struck out Ben Zobrist on three pitches, all swings and misses.

NESN Note: Jerry Remy was out sick, so Steve Lyons filled in. Man, was he godawful. Granted, I only heard two innings before switching to the radio, but that was more than enough. The capper was hearing him state that dropping the "Devil" from Tampa Bay's nickname "changed the mentality" of the entire organization and so they started winning.

Erik Bedard / John Lackey

Pedroia, 2B
Victorino, RF
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Gomes, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Pierzynski, C
Middlebrooks, 3B
Bradley, CF

WEEI's Alex Speier notes that the Red Sox are not worried about Xander Bogaerts's fielding. They accept any lapses as part of his necessary growth.

Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston writes:

He's learning on the job, which means there have been errors, there have been plays that should have been made that weren't, and throws that have left something to be desired. ... Until the Sox start winning, there will be an undercurrent of grumbling that they would have been better served re-signing [Stephen] Drew to play short. ...

Offensively, Bogaerts has yet to hit his stride, but is off to a strong start. His .287 average ranks second among all big-league rookies to Yangervis Solarte of the Yankees (.301), and his .392 on-base percentage ranks third to Josmil Pinto of the Twins and Solarte. Pinto and Solarte are 25, Bogaerts 21.

Awful Announcing ranks NESN 13th among MLB broadcast teams, according to fan voting. Two readers' comments:

"Remy is just flat out unbearable for the Red Sox, which is a shame because Orsillo is very good." -sangell2007

"What makes many Red Sox games difficult to watch is the incessant "extras" on the telecasts. The stupid graphics, polls, and pointless interviews with fans can just ruin a game." -AnthonyJennings