Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays Baseball Preview
The Boston Red Sox look to hand the Tampa Bay Rays their first series sweep of the season when they meet in the final game of a three-game series at Tropicana Field in Tampa. These AL East rivals begin play at 7 PM ET.
The Tampa Bay Rays (32-14, 13-9 home) are the top team in baseball right now and hold a five-game lead over their nearest competitor in the race for the AL East despite losing two in a row.
The Boston Red Sox (26-21, 12-10 away) are coming off of an impressive win over the Rays last night. Jon Lester gave up just a single hit in the start and the BoSox handed the Rays just their second shutout of the season. With a win tonight, Boston would have five-straight wins for their longest winning streak of the season.
Matt Garza (5-2, 3.27 ERA) stands in the way of a Red Sox sweep. Garza’s last outing against Boston came on April 18 when he kept Boston off of the board for eight innings while giving up just four hits on the way to a 7-1 victory. He has never lost to the Red Sox at home.
John Lackey (4-3, 5.07 ERA) looks to put a rough start behind him after giving up four runs and five walks in just five innings of work against Philly last Friday. Lackey is 0-2 in his last two starts against the Rays with a 17.28 ERA.
