ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -James Shields and Daisuke Matsuzaka escaped first-inning jams and the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays were scoreless Friday night through three innings in the opener of the AL championship series.
Shields, who also started Game 1 for Tampa Bay in its first-round playoff series against the Chicago White Sox, allowed one hit – a two-out double by Kevin Youkilis in the first – before retiring the side in order in the second and third.
Matsuzaka, 9-0 on the road this season, did not allow a hit through three innings but was not particularly sharp. He walked three in the first inning before quieting the Tropicana Field crowd by getting Cliff Floyd to ground out to end the threat.
The Rays breezed into the ALCS by beating the White Sox in their first-ever playoff series, while the Red Sox are playing for the pennant for the fourth time in six years after beating the Los Angeles Angels in the other ALDS.
start the game, then quickly slipped into a tight spot when Dustin Pedroia walked on a 3-2 pitch and Youkilis hit a drive to right field that landed just inside the line and bounced over a short fence in foul territory for a ground-rule double.
Pedroia, who would have scored easily if the ball had not gone into the stands, rounded third and headed home where plate umpire Tim McClelland waited a few feet up the line. Shields escaped by striking out J.D. Drew.
Matsuzaka, 18-3 overall, also got off to a shaky start, walking leadoff man Akinori Iwamura and two of the next four batters to load the bases with two outs.
Opponents were hitless in 14 at-bats against the right-hander during the regular season, and he got out of another jam by retiring Floyd.
Tampa Bay won the season series between the AL East rivals 10-8, including eight of nine at Tropicana Field, where the Rays compiled the best home record in the majors.
The Red Sox were 7-2 against the Rays at Fenway Park, although both of Tampa Bay’s victories there came during a 10-day confidence-building stretch in which the Rays took four of six games from the World Series champions to hang on to first place.
“We know what we’re getting when we face these guys and they know what they’re getting when they face us,” Rays outfielder Rocco Baldelli said. “There are not going to be any surprises.”
ncluded a generous sprinkling of fans wearing Boston T-shirts, jerseys and hats, but nothing like the sea of red that usually colors the stands for Red Sox stops at The Trop during the regular season.
Outside the domed stadium, it was a strange site to see parking lots filling four hours before game time and fans parading back and forth in front of the building seeking tickets.
About 6,000 upper-deck seats remain covered for the ALCS, reducing capacity to about 36,000 – usually more than adequate for one of the poorest drawing franchises in baseball. The Rays have agreed to uncover the seats if they advance to the World Series.
A moment of silence was observed before the game for George Kissell, who spent 69 years in the St. Louis Cardinals organization as a player, manager, coach and instructor. The longtime St. Petersburg resident died this week following a car accident. He was 88.
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