Rays Vs. Red Sox Recap: Tampa Loses 5-3, Splits Series With Boston

The Tampa Bay Rays lost to the Red Sox, 5-3, on Thursday night in the second game of a quick split two-game series at Tropicana Field. The Rays edged out the Sox by a run on Wednesday, but Boston came back to get one off the Rays before interleague play gets underway this weekend. A two-run single by Cody Ross in the top of the 8th inning proved to be the difference. Burke Badenhop gave up a lead-off single to Dustin Pedroia and was tanked for J.P Howell, who promptly walked David Ortiz. Joe Maddon's third reliever of the inning, Wade Davis, gave up the two-out, two-run single to Ross.

Starter Matt Moore struck out eight in six innings, but gave up a run in each of the first three innings, including two solo homers by Ross and Marlon Byrd. The offense got two back with a run in the third and fourth, but they could never string together a big rally against Felix Doubront, who was credited with his fourth win of the season.

The Rays now host Atlanta for a weekend interleague series at the Trop. Game 1 on Friday will feature a solid pitching matchup of Tommy Hanson and James Shields.

For more news and updates from around the league, be sure to drop by Baseball Nationor the Rays blog DRaysBay. For more on the Red Sox visit SB Nation's Red Sox blog Over The Monster. And for a peak at the analysis behind the numbers, head over to Beyond the Box Score.

Rays Vs. Red Sox Preview: Matt Moore Wants To Pitch Tampa Bay Past Boston

The Tampa Bay Rays play the finale of a two game series down at Tropicana Field against the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night. Matt Moore will take the hill for the Rays, looking for his second win of the season.

Moore is currently 1-3 with a 5.31 ERA after surprising people after his debut in 2011, allowing one run on three hits in 10 innings pitched in the postseason. In his last start on May 12 against the Baltimore Orioles, Moore pitched four and a-third innings, allowing four runs but only one earned, however he still walked four batters.

The Red Sox counter with left hander Felix Doubront, a surprising member of Boston's rotation in the early stages of the 2011 season. In his last start against the Cleveland Indians on May 12, he allowed only one run on three hits over six innings to pick up his third win of the season. His record now stands at 3-1 with a 4.46 ERA

The game is scheduled for a 7:10 start time from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Television coverage will be provided by Sunshine Sports Network with a national broadcast on MLB Network. Radio coverage will be provided by WDAE 620 AM and WGES 680 AM.

For more news and updates from around the league, be sure to drop by Baseball Nation or the Rays blog DRaysBay. For more on the Red Sox visit SB Nation's Red Sox blog Over The Monster. And for a peak at the analysis behind the numbers, head over to Beyond the Box Score.

Will Rhymes Injury Update: X-Rays Negative, Rhymes Day-To-Day

When Will Rhymes took that pitch off his arm last night, and his subsequent passing out at first base, it seemed like it was a pretty serious injury. But now that he has gone and taken an X-Ray, it seems like the injury is a lot better than we originally thought.

#Rays say X-rays of Rhymes right arm negative. It's just a bruise and he's day-to-day

— RMooneyTrib (@RMooneyTrib) May 17, 2012

That's good news, because it looked like Rhymes would be out for a while, and the Rays have enough injuries that they can't afford to lose anybody for an extended period of time. As for Rhymes' sense of humor, that seems to be intact as well.

#Rays Rhymes on what he told the trainers when asked if he knew his name: "I told them I was Batman just to mess with them."

— RMooneyTrib (@RMooneyTrib) May 17, 2012

Good to know he was having a laugh when everybody was serious worried about him. But at least he is healthy enough to make jokes, that's a step in the right direction.

For more news and updates from around the league, be sure to drop by Baseball Nationor the Rays blog DRaysBay. For more on the Red Sox visit SB Nation's Red Sox blog Over The Monster. And for a peak at the analysis behind the numbers, head over to Beyond the Box Score.

Red Sox Vs. Rays Final Score: Tampa Holds On To Win 2-1

The Tampa Bay Rays opened up a two-game series with the Boston Red Sox at home on Wednesday evening and took an early 1-0 lead. Carlos Pena scored in the second inning thanks to a balk by Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz. The Red Sox quickly tied the game at 1-1 however when Jarrod Saltalamacchia scored on a Daniel Nava single.

The Rays broke the tie a few innings later on a Luke Scott sacrifice fly ball that allowed Matt Joyce to score, giving the Rays the 2-1 lead. Both teams bats struggled to play runs for much of the game, and the Rays held on to pick up the 2-1 win as Fernando Rodney holds tight and picks up the save.

For more news and updates from around the league, be sure to drop by Baseball Nation or the Rays blog DRaysBay. For more on the Red Sox visit SB Nation's Red Sox blog Over The Monster. And for a peak at the analysis behind the numbers, head over to Beyond the Box Score.

ANIMATED: Will Rhymes Passes Out After Hit By Pitch

Rays Vs. Red Sox: Jeremy Hellickson Goes To The Hill Against Boston

The Tampa Bay Rays open a two-game series with the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field on Wednesday. Can the Rays regain the lead in AL East in this series?