Tampa Bay Steals Game Four And The Series...Rays 5 Red Sox 3. Next Up? THE NEW YORK YANKEES

Sunday at the Trop, Brad Penny pitched his first quality start for his new team but it wasn't enough for the Boston Red Sox to defeat the Tampa Bays Rays. The Rays won the game by a score of 5-3. Penny was able to go six innings, giving up three runs on six hits but he was bested by James Shields. Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford tied the modern day record for steals in a major league game with six. Crawford is one of the best at reading the opposing pitcher's delivery motion and he usually gets an unbelievable jump towards second base, a jump that negates the other team's chances to thow him out.

JD Drew led Boston with three hits while Jacoby Ellsbury and the always steady Dustin Pedroia had two apiece. The difference in this contest was uncharacteristically the Boston bullpen. Manny Delcarmen gave up his first run of the season, surrendering two in just one third of an inning of work. Hits and plunked batsmen made it look very ugly for him but he'll turn the page and come back strong. The bullpen has been overworked early because of the starter's ineffectiveness but in most of the games so far, they have shined brilliantly. Delcarmen said this after his quick exit...

“We’re going to be fine. We have a good team and we’re confident in our abilities. It’s not the best way to give up my first run, but I just lost the feel that I’ve had today,” Delcarmen said. “I’ll just try to come back tomorrow and get another one.”

MVP Dustin Pedroia summed up this four game series...

“It seems like we were one hit away in this series to get a win, but we just didn’t get it this series. We’ll get it next series,” Dustin Pedroia said. “I think everyone’s over this. We have 140-something games left, I don’t think anybody’s hitting the panic button because we got beat three out of four, you know what I mean? We’ll head into New York and try to play good baseball. You can’t sit back and say, ‘Oh no, we lost three out of four, the season’s over, let’s all go back home.’

The pitching matchups for the upcoming two game series in the new Yankee Stadium, starting tonight, go like this...

Jon Lester (1-2 5.50) vs. Phil Hughes (1-0 0.00) Monday at 7:05pm EDT
Josh Beckett (2-2 7.22 vs. Joba (the hut) Chamberlain (1-0 3.13) Tuesday at 7:05pm EDT

At Fenway Park, Boston swept the Yankees in their first three games of 2009 and the two rivals have fifteen more to go. Enjoy tonight's series opener and as always, BE WELL. You can click on this post's title for more on the Sox and thanks for stopping in once again. See ya. Soon. Leave your comments...I'll answer them. Every one of 'em.