ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -Evan Longoria and Cliff Floyd failed to come through in key at-bats. Carl Crawford barely missed a sliding catch. James Shields was outpitched by Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Finally looking like the playoff newcomers they are, the young Rays fell just short several times Friday night during a 2-0 loss to the Boston Red Sox in the AL championship series opener.
The Rays won their first division title this season with clutch hits and big defensive plays. Both were missing in Game 1 against Boston.
Held hitless through six innings, the Rays squandered three great scoring opportunities and let an important run score on a ball that deflected off Crawford’s glove in left field.
Tampa Bay had Matsuzaka on the ropes in the first, loading the bases with two outs on three walks. Floyd, an inspirational team leader, grounded out to second to end the threat.
anticipating another late comeback, but Matsukaza shut the door. He retired Dioner Navarro on a fly ball, struck out Gabe Gross and induced an inning-ending grounder from Jason Bartlett.
Boston went up 2-0 in the eighth when Crawford just missed a diving catch on Kevin Youkilis’ RBI double.
In a move that surprised many, Boston manager Terry Francona opted to let Matsuzaka return for the eighth after his pitch count had already surpassed 100. It looked like a questionable decision when singles by Akinori Iwamura and B.J. Upton to open the inning ended Matsuzaka’s night.
Then, Boston’s bullpen took over.
Francona first turned to Hideki Okajima, who got Carlos Pena to fly out on a 3-0 pitch. Justin Masterson was next and the result was a rally-ending, double-play grounder by rookie All-Star Evan Longoria.
It was a rare Tropicana Field failure for Tampa Bay, which had the majors’ top home record this season at 57-24. The Rays had won eight of nine home games during the regular season against the Red Sox.
The upstart Rays, who had never won more than 70 games in a season before this year’s unexpected ride to the playoffs, will need to find that spark at home again in Game 2 on Saturday or they will face an uphill climb heading to Boston for Game 3 on Monday.
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