Scott Kazmir and the Rays may find it hard to erase the visions of mighty Red Sox swings slicing into their fragile AL East lead.
David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, Jason Bay, Jason Varitek, Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury hit home runs, overwhelming Kazmir and Tampa Bay 13-5 Monday night to pull Boston within 0.002 percentage points of ending the Rays’ two-month stay atop the standings.
“That was just a good old-fashioned whippin’ tonight,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said, adding that he doesn’t expect it to have an adverse effect on his young team the next two games.
“Believe it or not, this is an easier loss to accept. When you lose 2-1 or 3-2 on one play … those are the ones you go home and kind of beat yourself up after.”
In other AL games on Monday, it was the New York Yankees 4, the Chicago White Sox 2; Cleveland 3, Minnesota 1; Kansas City 3, Seattle 0; and Texas 11, Detroit 8.
The Red Sox jumped on Kazmir for four runs in the first inning and never let up. Ortiz, who finished with four RBIs, hit a three-run homer after Kazmir (11-7) threw nine straight balls to begin the game. Two batters later, Lowell hit a solo shot for a 4-0 lead.
Kazmir said he didn’t feel good warming up, and things only got worse.
“I’m really not going to get down on myself. I just didn’t feel like that was me out there,” the 24-year-old left-hander said.
The Red Sox won for the first time in seven games at Tropicana Field this season.
“These guys have been playing well all year long, and we haven’t been playing well here at all,” Timlin said. “It was an amazing game offensively for us. We’ve been working hard to get (to first place) and the Rays have been working hard to keep us from here. It just shows the perseverance of this team.”
The Rays (88-60) went 21-7 in August and were a season-high 5 1/2 games up on Boston heading into September. They’re 4-9 this month, with six of the losses coming against the Red Sox and Yankees, who took two of three from Tampa Bay over the weekend.
The Red Sox (89-61), on the other hand, have won three straight and 10 of 14 in September to get as close to the lead as they’ve been since mid-July, when they erased a five-game deficit in a week to pull ahead by a half game at the All-Star break.
Both teams are in position to make the playoffs; neither wants to settle for the wild card.
“We want to finish first,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “That’s what you set out to do.”
pitcher to win 17 games in a season. Hideo Nomo won 16 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers three times (1996, 2002-03).
Bay and Varitek homered in the fourth off Kazmir, who allowed nine runs and six hits in three-plus innings – his shortest outing of the season. The four homers he yielded were a career high.
Youkilis hit his 26th homer, a two-run shot in the fourth, and added a RBI double in the sixth, both off reliever Mitch Talbot. Ellsbury also homered off Talbot to give the Red Sox a 12-1 lead in the fifth.
The six homers were the most the Red Sox have hit in a game since Aug. 3, 2003, when they went deep six times against Baltimore.
Yankees 4, White Sox 2
At New York, Mariano Rivera moved into second place on the career saves list and the Yankees put a small crimp in Chicago’s postseason plans.
Beginning its final week at Yankee Stadium – barring an incredible playoff surge – New York got a two-run homer from Xavier Nady in the second inning and a tiebreaking double by pinch-hitter Wilson Betemit in the seventh.
The White Sox, who still lead the AL Central by 1 1/2 games over Minnesota, wasted six strong innings by Mark Buehrle and DeWayne Wise’s two-run shot off Alfredo Aceves.
Indians 3, Twins 1
At Cleveland, Scott Lewis (2-0) pitched six shutout innings in his second career start.
he minors Sept. 7. The left-hander allowed three hits and two walks.
Rangers 11, Tigers 8
At Arlington, Texas, rookie Taylor Teagarden had his first career grand slam and a career-high five RBIs, Michael Young hit a tiebreaking single and Texas handed Detroit its fifth straight loss.
Detroit carried an 8-7 lead into the eighth, but Texas took the lead against Kyle Farnsworth (2-3) on Teagarden’s RBI double and Young’s go-ahead single.
Royals 3, Mariners 0
At Kansas City, Mo., Kyle Davies (7-7) matched a career high with eight strikeouts in eight innings and combined with closer Joakim Soria on a four-hitter.
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