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Rays 5, Red Sox 4 [11 innings] (Game #23) [12-11]
Given a green light to swing away, Nathan Haynes delivered for the Tampa Bay Rays. Haynes singled with none out in the 11th inning, driving in Carl Crawford from second base and giving the Rays a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night. Manager Joe Maddon never gave serious thought to having Haynes bunt instead of go for the game-winner with two runners on. Haynes lined an 0-1 pitch from Mike Timlin (2-2) to right field after Crawford, who was 3-for-6 and scored three runs, began the rally with a single and stole second. Timlin walked B.J. Upton before giving up the winning hit. The Red Sox stranded the potential go-ahead run in scoring position in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings. Scott Dohmann (1-0) got David Ortiz—the only batter he faced—to ground into an inning-ending double play with men at first and third in the top of the 11th. Dan Wheeler worked out of a jam in the ninth, getting Ortiz to fly to center and striking out Manny Ramirez with runners at first and second. Kevin Youkilis and Jed Lowrie walked in the 10th before Julio Lugo grounded into a double play. The Rays rallied after falling behind knuckleballer Tim Wakefield 3-1, extending their season-best winning streak to four games. Their 12 wins overall match their most ever after 23 games. Right-hander Matt Garza made his first start since leaving Tampa Bay’s April 8 home opener with what the Rays described as radial nerve irritation in his pitching arm. He retired the Red Sox in order in the first, then nearly didn’t make it through a 40-pitch second in which he gave up a leadoff single to Ramirez before walking J.D. Drew and Sean Casey to load the bases with one out. Boston wound up scoring three runs in the inning with Lugo drawing a bases-loaded walk, Kevin Cash delivering a sacrifice fly and Jacoby Ellsbury following with a RBI single that made it 3-1. Casey was injured scoring on Ellsbury’s hit, limping across the plate with a right hip flexor strain that forced him out of the game. Wakefield was unbeaten at Tropicana Field until the Rays beat him here last Sept. 23. He’s 19-3 all-time against Tampa Bay, including 9-1 on the road, but struggled after the Red sox gave him the early lead. Crawford, who has a 12-game hitting streak, tripled and scored on Upton’s sacrifice fly in the first and Tampa Bay trimmed Boston’s lead to 3-2 on Evan Longoria’s RBI single in the third. Wakefield fell behind 4-3 in the fourth when Crawford tied it with an RBI triple and then scored on shortstop Lugo’s fielding error. The Red Sox countered with a run in the sixth, then turned the game over to their bullpen (Associated Press - Sports).
Given a green light to swing away, Nathan Haynes delivered for the Tampa Bay Rays. Haynes singled with none out in the 11th inning, driving in Carl Crawford from second base and giving the Rays a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night. Manager Joe Maddon never gave serious thought to having Haynes bunt instead of go for the game-winner with two runners on. Haynes lined an 0-1 pitch from Mike Timlin (2-2) to right field after Crawford, who was 3-for-6 and scored three runs, began the rally with a single and stole second. Timlin walked B.J. Upton before giving up the winning hit. The Red Sox stranded the potential go-ahead run in scoring position in the ninth, 10th and 11th innings. Scott Dohmann (1-0) got David Ortiz—the only batter he faced—to ground into an inning-ending double play with men at first and third in the top of the 11th. Dan Wheeler worked out of a jam in the ninth, getting Ortiz to fly to center and striking out Manny Ramirez with runners at first and second. Kevin Youkilis and Jed Lowrie walked in the 10th before Julio Lugo grounded into a double play. The Rays rallied after falling behind knuckleballer Tim Wakefield 3-1, extending their season-best winning streak to four games. Their 12 wins overall match their most ever after 23 games. Right-hander Matt Garza made his first start since leaving Tampa Bay’s April 8 home opener with what the Rays described as radial nerve irritation in his pitching arm. He retired the Red Sox in order in the first, then nearly didn’t make it through a 40-pitch second in which he gave up a leadoff single to Ramirez before walking J.D. Drew and Sean Casey to load the bases with one out. Boston wound up scoring three runs in the inning with Lugo drawing a bases-loaded walk, Kevin Cash delivering a sacrifice fly and Jacoby Ellsbury following with a RBI single that made it 3-1. Casey was injured scoring on Ellsbury’s hit, limping across the plate with a right hip flexor strain that forced him out of the game. Wakefield was unbeaten at Tropicana Field until the Rays beat him here last Sept. 23. He’s 19-3 all-time against Tampa Bay, including 9-1 on the road, but struggled after the Red sox gave him the early lead. Crawford, who has a 12-game hitting streak, tripled and scored on Upton’s sacrifice fly in the first and Tampa Bay trimmed Boston’s lead to 3-2 on Evan Longoria’s RBI single in the third. Wakefield fell behind 4-3 in the fourth when Crawford tied it with an RBI triple and then scored on shortstop Lugo’s fielding error. The Red Sox countered with a run in the sixth, then turned the game over to their bullpen (Associated Press - Sports). 
