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Notes: Wakefield's stumble to the finish line continues

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Only a month ago, Tim Wakefield seemed a lock to set a new career-high for most wins in a season, with an outside shot to become of the handful of pitchers who win 20 games for the first time as a 40-year-old.

But now, in the final week of the season, Wakefield will have to win his final start just to match his career-high for victories (17), set in 1998.

Wakefield took the loss Sunday in the Sox’ 5-4 defeat to Tampa and dropped to 16-12 for the season. He’s winless since beating the White Sox in Chicago on Aug. 25.

Of course, that month included a missed start (back spasms). But in his last four starts, including Sunday, Wakefield has given up at least four runs and has yet to pitch past the fifth inning.

He was charged with four runs Sunday in five innings of work.

The loss Sunday was the first for Wakefield at Tropicana Field. He had been 9-0 with three saves in 19 games (13 starts) here.

''It couldn’t have come at a worst time,’’ said a rueful Wakefield of the end of the streak.

Looking to get healthy
As the Sox head home for the final week of the season with a playoff spot assured, the most important task at hand is getting Manny Ramirez (oblique strain) and Kevin Youkilis (right wrist) healthy again.

Ramirez told manager Terry Francona that he had a ''better day . . . all around,’’ Saturday, but still isn’t ready to play. Youkilis, meanwhile, continues to show steady improvement, but is still experiencing swelling and pain.

Both players will hit at Fenway Park Monday, an off-day for the team and be re-evaluated.

Asked if Youkilis could return to action Tuesday night against Oakland, Francona hedged.

''We’ll see how he does tomorrow,’’ said Francona, ''but I would say probably not.’’

Out of mothballs
Reliever Julian Tavarez was dusted off and brought in to start the sixth in relief of Wakefield.

Until Sunday, Tavarez hadn’t pitched since Sept. 12, 11 days ago. Both Tavarez and the Sox said health had not been an issue in his layoff.

The rust showed some in his first inning when he allowed singles to two of first three hitters he faced.

Tavarez was charged with a run

Cora gets the nod
Alex Cora got the start at second over Dustin Pedroia, who had a rough road trip, going just 3-for-19.

Cora was struggling even more – at least before Sunday. He had a single and a homer in four trips yesterday, after coming into Sunday hitting just .118 in his last 11 games and .157 over his last 23.

The homer for Cora was his third of the season and first in 174 at-bats, dating back to April 29 in New York.

Around the bases
Doug Mirabelli got his second start since the middle of August and went hitless in three at-bats. Mirabelli had missed two weeks with a calf muscle strain, then came back and suffered a groin pull that sidelined him again . . . Of the four games the Red Sox have won this season when trailing after eight innings, three have come against the Devil Rays. In addition to Saturday night, the Sox also staged ninth-inning comebacks against Tampa Bay on Aug. 14 and Sept. 12 . . . David Ortiz has a chance to become just the sixth Red Sox player to stroke 50 doubles. He has 48 . . . Jacoby Ellsbury singled and has now hit safely in 19 of 20 games since his Sept. 1 call-up. He also swiped his ninth base and has yet to be thrown out. Ellsbury’s steal was the 90th of the season for the Sox, their most since 1996, when they had 91. In 1995, they had 99 . . . Sunday was the eighth time this season the Devil Rays had drawn a crowd of 30,000 or more (30,310) – five of those crowds have come with the Sox as the visiting team.

Posted by Art Martone  at 5:52 PM | Permalink

Game story: Devil Rays 5, Red Sox 4

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The road trip that saw them win just twice in six tries was hardly a success. Still, as the Red Sox packed to head back to Boston Sunday night, they were halfway home even before they were halfway home.

On the to-do list, the Sox can cross off: clinch playoff spot.

Next: win the division title.

Now comes some tough multi-tasking. The Sox want to win as many of their remaining six home games – two against Oakland, followed by four with Minnesota -– and at the same time, prepare for the grind of the postseason.

''(Manager Terry Francona’s) got a fine line to walk,'' said Tim Wakefield, the losing pitcher in Sunday’s 5-4 defeat to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, ''between winning the division and keeping guys healthy.’’

''We’d really like to win the division,’’ said Francona, when asked about his pending balancing act. ''But we’ll do what’s for the team. The timing of some of these guys going down isn’t good, but it’s not tragic because it’s not the playoffs. It’s hard going into the final week of the season with some of these guys not available, but it’s better than not having them available in the playoffs.’’

Even as the Sox await the return of Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramirez, there exists the issue of resting his own healthy – though somewhat spent – regulars. Surely, thirty-somethings like Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek and J.D. Drew would benefit from some down time.

But the Sox can’t be at cross purposes, either. There are still games to be won.

''We want to win the division,’’ said Alex Cora, who spelled Dustin Pedroia at second and chipped in with an eighth-inning homer that closed the Sox to within a run. ''We want to have the best record in baseball. We’ve got a lot on our plate and we’ve just got to go do our thing.’’

Sweeping the Devil Rays would have made the homestand a bit easier. As it is, with the Yankees winning Sunday, the magic number to win their first A.L. East crown since 1995 remains stuck at six.

Tampa took a 2-0 lead in the second on Delmon Young’s two-run homer, a pitch that Wakefield labeled his one mistake of the afternoon. Young had come into the game just 1-for-14 against the Sox knuckleballer before drilling one into the left-center seats.

''He just hit my bat,’’ confessed Young. ''I just swing and hopefully make contact. You just hope the bat hits your bat because you don’t know where it’s going. (Wakefield) probably doesn’t know where it’s going.’’

The lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth when Young doubled and scored on Jonny Gomes’ single to left, then 4-0 when Wakefield struggled with his control and the Rays took advantage of three walks.

The Sox offered little resistance against Edwin Jackson through the first five innings, with Jacoby Ellsbury’s two-out single in the third their only hit until the sixth.

Run-scoring singles from Ortiz and Coco Crisp and a based-loaded walk to Drew brought the Sox to within one and chased Jackson from the game.

Reliever Jon Switzer inherited a bases-loaded jam with one out, but shut the Sox down when he got Eric Hinske to hit a comebacker that resulted in an inning-ending 1-2-3 double-play.

The Rays nicked Julian Tavarez for a run in the sixth, later off-set by Cora’s homer. But Warwick’s Dan Wheeler got three groundouts after Cora’s strike and closer Al Reyes, who had three blown saves against the Sox this season, turned them back without incident in the ninth.

Homeward bound, the Sox know what they need.

''It’s a challenge,’’ said Wakefield. ''We’re in the postseason, so our next goal is to win the division. We didn’t get it done today.’’

''We always want to the series and we did that here,’’ pointed our Cora. ''Now we’ve got turn the page like we always do and get ready for the next series. We’ve got win our next two series. If we do that, we’ll be in position to win (the East).’’

Posted by Art Martone  at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

FINAL: Devil Rays 5, Red Sox 4

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.

Posted by Art Martone  at 4:35 PM | Permalink