Garza, Rays hold off Red Sox 4-3

[April 10, 2009]  BOSTON (AP) -- Matt Garza pitched seven innings of four-hit ball, Tampa Bay hit three homers off Daisuke Matsuzaka, and the Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 Thursday to win their opening three-game series.

Evan Longoria had three hits, including a two-run homer, and Matt Joyce and Shawn Riggans also homered for the defending AL champions.

Garza (1-0) allowed one run and three walks, struck out five to improved to 6-1 against the Red Sox.

Matsuzaka (0-1) gave up four runs, nine hits and three walks in 5 1-3 innings. The three homers matched his career high.

Kevin Youkilis was 3-for-4 with a walk for Boston, singling off Brian Shouse with one out in the eighth and scoring when Joe Nelson walked Jason Bay and gave up a double to Mike Lowell. But Nelson struck out Jed Lowrie on a full count to end the threat, and Troy Percival came on to pitch the ninth.

After giving up a leadoff homer to Jason Varitek, Percival got Jacoby Ellsbury on a flyout and Dustin Pedroia on a hard drive to third that Longoria stabbed on one hop. David Ortiz walked, but Youkilis flied out and Percival earned his first save.

Boston had not lost an opening series since 1988. But the Red Sox have now lost consecutive regular-season series at Fenway Park to the Rays, who had gone 25 straight visits to Boston without winning a series. Tampa Bay heads to Baltimore to play the Orioles, a team the Rays have beaten 12 straight times.

Garza was the MVP in last year's AL championship series when he beat Boston twice, including a Game 7 victory in which he pitched seven innings of two-hit ball.

On Thursday he escaped a jam with two on in the first, getting J.D. Drew to line out. He also put two on in the third before Drew flied out.

Youkilis doubled leading off the sixth and scored on Bay's one-out triple, but Garza retired Lowell and Lowrie.

Matsuzaka was the MVP of the World Baseball Classic for the second straight time, but his season debut more closely resembled his performance in Game 5 of last year's ALCS, when he gave up three homers in four innings. The Red Sox fell behind 7-0 before winning 8-7 to force the series back to Tampa Bay.

Notes: The Red Sox observed a moment of silence for Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, who was killed in a car crash early Thursday. ... It's the third time in Matsuzaka's career he has allowed three homers in a game. ... The Rays committed their first two errors of the season. ... Pedroia was presented with his 2008 Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. Dwight Evans, who won both in 1981, took part in the ceremony. The other Red Sox players to win both awards in the same season were Ellis Burks (1990) and Jason Varitek (2005).

[Associated Press; By JIMMY GOLEN]

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