Red Sox 7, Rays 5
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Boston Red Sox continued to try to salvage something from a lost season, while the Tampa Bay Rays kept throwing away their season of promise on Tuesday at Tropicana Field.
The Red Sox, last in the American League East, used a six-inning, one-hit performance from starting pitcher Felix Doubront and the Rays' combination of shoddy defense and punchless offense to win the second game of the four-game series 7-5.
The Rays fell six games behind New York in the American League East and failed to gain ground in the wild card on Oakland or Baltimore. Doubront (11-9) was the winner, allowing five walks in addition to the one hit, and three earned runs.
The Red Sox took the lead permanently in the sixth with the help of the Rays' sixth error of the series and third of the game, a costly two-out botched throw by third baseman Sean Rodriguez. Ryan Lavarnway and Scott Podsednik had begun the rally with one-out singles and moved up a base on a groundout before Rodriguez fired past first base on a grounder by the speedy Pedro Ciriaco.
The Red Sox led 4-3 and added three in the seventh on a two-out rally powered by a two-run double by Lavarnway following an RBI single by Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
Boston had erased a two-run deficit against Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson in the fifth to tie the score 3-3. Jose Iglesias led off with a walk and scored on consecutive singles by Ciriaco and Jacoby Ellsbury. Ciriaco scored from third base on a shallow fly ball to right when Ben Francisco's throw sailed up the third baseline.
Doubront provided the Rays offense an opportunity it could not squander in the bottom of the third inning with three consecutive one-out walks. Ben Zobrist (2-for-4, four RBIs) gave the Rays a 2-0 lead by singling to right center, and B.J. Upton beat Podsednik's throw home on an Evan Longoria sacrifice fly to left to make it 3-0. Manager Joe Maddon had employed an entirely right-handed-hitting lineup against the left-handed Doubront, hoping to spark a team whose season-long offensive malaise is squandering the efforts of the league's statistically best pitching staff. The last five teams to finish a season with an ERA as low as the Rays' 3.27 mark advanced to the World Series.
Boston recouped a run in the top of the fourth when Cody Ross led off with a double and scored on James Loney's single.
Zobrist drove in two more runs with a single in the seventh after Red Sox relievers loaded the bases with a hit batter and two walks.
Boston used five relievers and Andrew Bailey recorded his fifth save.
NOTES: Longoria expects to play the remaining 14 regular-season games after sitting out Monday. He started at DH on Tuesday. ... The Day of New London and the Boston Globe report that UConn and Notre Dame are negotiating to play a football game in Fenway Park in 2014. However, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said the reports are inaccurate. The Red Sox home park has not hosted football since 1968.... Boston's scheduled starter for Wednesday, Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-5, 7.14 ERA), is 2-7 against the Rays, his worst mark against any American League team. He has not beaten the Rays since Sept. 15, 2008. ... The Rays committed three more errors (six in the series) and have the worst fielding percentage in the AL. The last team to lead the AL in pitching and stand last in fielding was the 1945 Washington Senators. The Rays led the league in fielding in 2011.
