Red Sox move within half-game of Rays with 3-0 win

[September 09, 2008]  BOSTON (AP) -- Jon Lester pitched into the eighth inning, Jason Bay homered in a three-run first and the surging Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-0 on Monday night to move within a half-game of the struggling AL East leaders.

Playing before their 456th straight regular-season sellout crowd, a new major league record, the Red Sox closed within a half-game of the division lead for the first time since July 23.

Boston improved to 6-1 in its last seven games while Tampa Bay is 1-6 in that same stretch after losing its fourth straight. The Rays were shut out for the second consecutive day for the first time this year, having lost 1-0 at Toronto on Sunday.

They dropped to 0-7 at Fenway Park this season and could fall out of first place on Tuesday night in the second game of the three-game series. The teams wrap up their season series with three games at Tampa Bay starting next Monday.

Boston leads the majors with 14 shutouts.

Lester (14-5) matched his season high with nine strikeouts, accomplished in his no-hitter against Kansas City on May 19. He allowed six hits and three walks in 7 2-3 innings.

With two outs in the eighth, Lester gave up a single to Ben Zobrist and a ground-rule double to Carlos Pena, putting runners at second and third. Jonathan Papelbon came in and struck out Rocco Baldelli, who fanned in all four at-bats. Papelbon finished up for his 36th save in 40 opportunities.

Lester outpitched Edwin Jackson (11-10), who settled down after the three-run first and finished with six strikeouts while giving up eight hits and two walks in seven innings. Jackson had won six of seven decisions before his worst start of the season, a 9-3 loss to the New York Yankees last Wednesday in which he allowed six runs in 3 1-3 innings.

Mark Kotsay, the first batter Jackson faced, started the rally with a walk and then scored on a one-out double by David Ortiz. Ortiz scored on a single by Kevin Youkilis, who was thrown out in a rundown between first and second.

Bay followed with his sixth homer since being traded by Pittsburgh on July 31 and his 28th of the season.

Before the game, Red Sox owners John Henry and Tom Werner, president Larry Lucchino and players greeted some of the 37,662 fans who attended the record-breaking sellout. Since the streak began on May 15, 2003, the total attendance at the 456 games is 16,336,192.

The Cleveland Indians set the previous record from June 1995 to April 2001 at Jacobs Field.

Notes: Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said 3B Evan Longoria, who came off the disabled list Saturday, might play this week. ... The Red Sox activated right fielder J.D. Drew from the DL after he recovered from a strained lower back and called up catcher George Kottaras and first baseman-outfielder Chris Carter from Triple-A Pawtucket. ... The Rays' 1-6 slide is their worst since they lost their last seven games before the All-Star break. ... Boston CF Coco Crisp went 3-for-3 and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. He is 21-for-37 in that stretch, improving his batting average from .256 to .291. It was his sixth straight multihit game.

[Associated Press; By HOWARD ULMAN]

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