Red Sox and Rays Fight in A.L. East Showdown

The Boston Red Sox look to get back to their winning ways after a slow start to the season. Boston was picked as the second favorite (behind the Yankees) to win the American League Championship. Losing 2 out of 3 to the defending World Series Champions to start the season certainly wasn’t the way the Sox wanted to start.

A 3 games set against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays allows the Red Sox to prove their worth in the tough AL East. Clay Buchholz started the year with a solid outing against the Kansas City Royals as he threw 5 innings and allowed just 2 earned runs on 7 hits. He will be expected to do much more than the average #3 starter this season as Boston has high hopes for this young prospect.

Offensively, the Sox are slightly below last years season average, but they have struggled mightily in the bullpen. The starting rotaion hasn’t been much better. Three of the 4 starters that have pitched at least 2 games have an ERA of 5 or higher. This will obviously decrease over the course of the season, but there is certainly concern amongst management. John Lester, Josh Beckett and Tim Wakefield have all been hit hard in their first couple starts. They will need to pitch deeper into games to preserve the bullpen for later in the year.

Offensively they have plenty of firepower. Dustin Pedroia leads the team in almost every major category. His .405 batting average, 4 home runs and 10 RBI’s rank in the top 5 amongst the league leaders. Victor Martinez and Mike Cameron are off to slow starts, but should bring plenty of pop to the Boston line-up by time the season is over.

Tampa is starting to show signs of life after a disappointing 2009 campaign. Evan Longoria will be a staple in this line-up for years to come, and has plenty of support this year. The Rays pitching staff is above average, but will need to step up in order to keep up with the Yankees and Red Sox for the AL East title.

Expect a competitive series that will come down to pitching.

Related posts:

1. Rays and Red Sox fight for A.L. Wildcard
2. Red Sox Try to Gain Ground in East against Rays
3. Red Sox & Rays in A.L. East Cellar
4. Red Sox are still alive in A.L. East
5. Yankees and Rays fight for A.L. East

Comments