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Rays dominate Boston to take 3-1 ALCS baseball lead
2008-10-15
Carl Crawford went five-for-five and Willy Aybar drove in five runs as Tampa Bay thrashed Boston 13-4 in game four of the American League Championship Series on Tuesday. Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena homered for the Rays who have a commanding 3-1 series lead in one their Major League Baseball best-of-seven semi-finals series. "We want to be aggressive at the plate," Crawford said. "The guys are focused and we want it really bad." Tampa can clinch a berth in the World Series on Thursday when they start pitcher James Shields on the mound. "It would be nice to finish it up here," Crawford said. The Rays stunned Boston in game three on Monday, belting four homers in a 9-1 victory, and carried their homer barrage over to the first inning of game four, when Pena followed a one-out walk to B.J. Upton with a towering blast into the "Green Monster" seats. Longoria followed with a solo shot to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead. The blast gave Longoria five in the postseason, breaking the rookie record set by Miguel Cabrera with the 2003 Florida Marlins. It was one of our more complete games tonight. "There were a lot of really good things," Tampa manager Joe Madden said. "I was pleased with tonight's game." Tim Wakefield retired the side in order in the second and set down the first two batters in the third before Crawford slapped a weak grounder to the right side of the infield. Wakefield got to the dribbler but could not get it out of his glove quickly, allowing the speedy Crawford to reach. Aybar followed and worked the count to 2-1 before driving a high knuckleball into the seats above the "Monster" for a 5-0 advantage. Wakefield (0-1) was removed after 2 2/3 innings, having allowed five runs and six hits while walking two and striking out a pair. "Our bats have gotten a lot better," Madden said. "Everybody up and down the lineup. We talk about good at bats. We are swinging at strikes and it is contagious in a positive way. I want to see it again." It was the shortest outing for a Boston starter in the playoffs since Bronson Arroyo lasted two innings in game three of the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees. "We need to figure it out," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "We have had a difficult time and have not had an answer for a lot of things." The five-run lead was plenty for Rays righthander Andy Sonnanstine (1-0), who allowed four runs - two earned - and six hits in 7 1/3 innings while walking one and striking out two. Tampa Bay's No. 4 starter, Sonnanstine easily handled Boston in a pair of September starts, tossing 13 innings without allowing an earned run. "To be honest with you, even during the regular season, I've never heard this place that quiet," Upton said. "I think that was our goal, was to take the crowd out of it. The more we jump on them early, the more we're able to do that. So hopefully, we can come out Thursday and do the same thing." The 25-year-old Sonnanstine carried that success into October, setting down 12 in a row before David Ortiz led off the seventh with a triple. The Rays piled on against the Red Sox's bullpen, adding a run against righthander Justin Masterson in the fifth and five against Manny Delcarmen in the sixth. An semi-finals deficit is nothing new to Boston, who were down three games to one to the Cleveland Indians en route to winning the World Series in 2007 and overcame a three-games-to-none hole against the Yankees in 2004.
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