Red Sox close in on first place

Surging Boston is one victory from passing Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.

Associated Press

Last update: September 9, 2008 - 7:45 AM

BOSTON – The surging Red Sox are one win from passing Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.

A message from both teams: Don’t be deceived by the Rays’ recent slide.

“Obviously, they’re still in first place and everybody knows why,” Coco Crisp said after Boston’s 3-0 victory on Monday night, “because they have a good team.”

A good team that, for two consecutive games, has been shut out. A team that has seen five games shaved from its AL East lead in eight days and is clinging to a meager half-game edge going into tonight’s second game of the three-game series.

A team that looks more like the one that finished in last place in nine of its past 10 seasons than the one that has led its division since the All-Star break. And the Rays have only three weeks left in the regular season to hold off the more experienced Red Sox.

“We’ve just run into a little bit of a snag hitting-wise, and when you don’t hit, all of a sudden everybody wants to magnify the negativity about it,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “We’re playing well right now. We’re just not hitting.”

On Monday, the Rays ran into a strong pitching performance by Jon Lester (13-4).

The lefty pitched into the eighth inning, Jason Bay homered in a three-run first and the Red Sox won their sixth in seven games. The Rays have lost four in a row and six of seven.

“Whether we’ve closed the gap or not, just the way we’ve been playing, trying to distance ourselves in the wild card and still ultimately win the East” is important, Bay said. “Once you get that ball rolling … it’s a little bit easier to keep it rolling.”

The Red Sox improved to 7-0 at Fenway Park against the Rays. But they’re 0-6 at Tampa Bay, where the teams open a three-game series next Monday.

“It was a good atmosphere tonight in the ballpark,” said Lester, who matched his season high with nine strikeouts. “It almost felt like we were in the playoffs.”

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