Projo Sox Blog

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Red Sox may have a playoff spot wrapped up, but the clinching of the A.L. East title may go down to the wire.

Tim Wakefield, who truly has been the Devil Rays' ''daddy'' (to channel Pedro Martinez) over his career, pitched poorly against them for the second straight time, putting the Sox a hole they couldn't quite get out of. They wound up losing to Tampa Bay, 5-4.

The loss, coupled with the Yankees' victory over Toronto, cut the Sox' division lead to 1 1/2 games and kept their magic number for clinching the A.L. East at six.

The Red Sox trailed, 4-0, when they came to bat in the sixth, but they scored three runs and still had the bases loaded with one out. Eric Hinske, however, grounded into a 1-2-3 double play, ending the rally, and the Sox couldn't quite catch up.

Check back later for Sean McAdam's complete game report. Meanwhile, get the box score and play-by-play here.

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