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Price, Four Home Runs, Help Rays Dump Red Sox, 14-5
Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Ben Zobrist, Jason Bartlett and Evan Longoria each homered and finished with three RBI, as Tampa Bay blasted Boston, 14-5, to gain ground on first place in the AL East.
Carl Crawford went 4-for-4 with three doubles and drove in two for the Rays, who moved within 1 1/2 games of the division-leading Yankees. New York lost at home to Baltimore, 6-2, on Tuesday.
Dan Johnson and B.J. Upton also went deep for Tampa Bay, which picked up its franchise-record 41st road win.
David Price (17-6) expanded his club record for victories in a single season as he allowed just two hits and a pair of runs over six innings.
Victor Martinez had a two-run double in the first inning for the Red Sox, who lost for the fourth time in five tries and fell 7 1/2 games behind the wild card-leading Rays.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (9-5) was touched for eight hits and eight runs over 4 2/3 innings and fell to 2-6 lifetime against Tampa Bay.
The Red Sox came into Tuesday having not allowed a home run in six straight games, but that went by the wayside in the third inning. John Jaso doubled with one out and Zobrist homered to center field to tie the game.
Tampa Bay went ahead by scoring four times in the fourth and tacked on six more in the fifth. Matsuzaka had trouble in the fourth, walking three batters, including one to Bartlett with the bases full. Zobrist had a one-out RBI single to left, and Crawford followed with a two-run double down the right field line for a 6-2 lead.
Bartlett belted a two-run homer over the Green Monster in the fifth. Dustin Richardson walked two batters in a row before Crawford's infield hit, combined with a throwing error on Richardson, added another run. Longoria smacked a three-run homer off Robert Manuel into the parking lot beyond the high wall in left for a dominating 12-2 cushion.
Johnson and Upton went back-to-back with homers in the sixth before the Red Sox scored three times in the eighth, one coming on Darnell McDonald's lead- off shot to left. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jed Lowrie added RBI doubles.
The Red Sox recalled pitcher Michael Bowden from Triple-A Pawtucket. He threw two scoreless innings...The Rays recalled pitcher Mike Ekstrom from Triple-A Durham on Tuesday and he pitched the ninth inning...If the Rays win Wednesday's series finale, Tampa will earn its club-record 14th road series win. They also won 13 road series in 2008.
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