Last night, the Rays looked uninspired and played like they were worn out by all their recent traveling. That's not meant to excuse them from their performance - playing against your big rival should be enough to buck anyone up - but more to explain why this recap is short. It was a disappointing game to watch and I don't think any of us want to dwell on it for too long. Just like how the Rays reflect on a loss for only 30 minutes, I'm going to spend only 30 words:
Wade Davis couldn't throw strikes, couldn't get whiffs;
Odd strikezone, ump was a piff.
Offense lackluster, line-up was odd;
Pena hit homer, finally thank God.
The Red Sox are good.
Ugh, apparently there's a reason I'm not a poet; I'm sorry if that offended your sensibilities. Crude as it is, though, that "poem" aptly captures all the topics I wanted to touch upon in today's game recap. Wade Davis did his best Scott Kazmir impression, throwing over 90 pitches (58% strikes) in an ineffective 3.2 innings. He walked three and didn't strike out any, while only garnering three swinging strikes overall. He was helped slightly by the home plate umpire, who had a wide inside corner with righties at bat and a huge outside corner for left-handed batters. Sonnanstine and Cormier pitched well in relief, allowing the rest of the bullpen to be rested for later on in the series.
Offensively, the only bright spot came on Carlos Pena's eighth homerun of the season, which was an absolute moon blast. Pena seems to be heating up slightly, hitting three homeruns in the last five days. I'd like for him to get some other hits as well, but hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.
And finally, just remember that the Red Sox are an actual good team; losing to them occasionally is to be expected. Let's have the Rays go out there and beat them tonight, saving us from the danger of a sweep.