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Bullpen Blues – Sox Fall to Rays 9-4

This is why they play the game. After the Red Sox rolled over the Rays the night before, Tampa Bay, with their ace Matt Garza on the mound, was ready for some payback. Working Daisuke Matsuzaka for 29 first inning pitches was an ominous start, but Dice-K buckled down, allowing just three runs over his six innings – good enough for a quality start.

Having fallen from the AL East lead to third place, the Rays needed a big night. Despite the typical Dice-K outing filled with base runners, the Rays were largely held in check as Matsuzaka allowed only three runs and four hits to go along with four walks and seven strikeouts. Scott Atchison pitched a scoreless seventh but the wheels fell off in the eighth inning when Manny Delcarmen allowed five runs without recording an out.

Unfortunately, the Red Sox big inning was also in the eighth, after the Rays had expanded their lead to eight runs. After allowing just one run through seven innings, Matt Garza ran into some trouble at the start of the eighth, and his bullpen didn’t help him out of the jam, allowing both Red Sox base runners to score.

Sox Stud of the Game: David Ortiz

Big Papi is back. Ortiz hit two doubles and drove in three of the Red Sox’ runs.

Sox Dud of the Game: Manny Delcarmen

Delcarmen gave up five runs without recording an out, continuing the struggles of the right-handed reliever whose ERA and WHIP are up to 4.59 and 1.41 respectively.

Game Notes:

W: Matt Garza (9-5)
L: Daisuke Matsuzaka (5-3)

• Eric Patterson had a hit and scored two runs in his Red Sox debut.
• Jason Varitek completed a strike ‘em out throw ‘em out catching Matt Joyce at second base to end the fifth inning.
• Elbow pain, which may have limited Delcarmen in the game, could force him to the DL.
• Don Orsillo at the end of the first inning: “Stop me if you’ve heard this before – Dice-K Matsuzaka gets out of a bases loaded jam.”

About Mike Carlucci

Mike Carlucci writes about the Red Sox for Sports of Boston and can be found blogging about baseball and technology. He has a J.D and enjoys palindromes and espresso. You can follow him on Twitter @mikecarlucci or on Google+.

Tags: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Eric Patterson, Manny Delcarmen, Matt Garza, Red Sox, Tampa Bay