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The Rays again in a must-win situation

Last night Tampa managed to win in their third match against Boston and the results now stands at 1-2. Both of the teams will have pitchers that allow lots of runs so we should have see a real offensive battle today.

There was a lot of drama in the last night's match between these two teams. In the end, Tampa Bay have survived and now they are 2-1 down in the series. They had one run the lead in the 9th inning but then the Red Soxs also scored a run and the match was tied. But, the Rays refused to give up and in the end Jose Lobaton hit a home run and gave his team a valuable victory:

- I was walking to home plate, and I said, 'Well, I'm going to try and hit the ball hard, try to get a double. I don't need a single. First pitch, he threw me a split, and I said, 'I've got to be more back.' And he threw me the next pitch. I hit the ball hard and said, 'I think I've got it - Lobaton said after the game.

But, the job is not nearly done for Tampa Bay. The Red Sox still got the advantage and there is still lot of pressure for Tampa Bay. They simply must win today if they wish to proceed to the next round. Boston were once again very close but in the end they failed to finish the series with a 3-0 sweep.

- Tomorrow night we'll be here ready to go. Our guys have a very strong ability to put this one behind us. We knew coming in this was going to be a hard-fought series - Red Sox's manager John Farrell said.

Jeremy Helickson (12-10, 5,17 ERA) will be on the mound for the Rays today. This is by far his worst season since his arrival to Tampa Bay three years ago. He was struggling in the regular part of the season and he is 2-6 with very bad 7,02 ERA in the last 10 games. On five occasions he allowed more than five runs per game and today he will have to give everything he got if he wishes to stop Red Sox's excellent offense.

- We know we can win three in a row. It's going to be difficult, but we know we can do it - Helickson said.

Helickson has a 4,77 ERA on Tropicana field this season and he is 4-2 (4,21 ERA) against the Red Sox.

New signing from Chicago, Jake Peavy (12-5, 4,17 ERA), will be on the mound for the away team. He is 4-1 in the Boston jersey with a solid 4,07 ERA. He was doing OK in the last four games but OK often isn't really enough. He allowed 15 runs to his opponents.

But, he was really struggling when playing away from home this season (5,27 ERA). In the last part of the season he had some trouble with controling the baseball, and that was also the case in his last start against Tampa almost a month ago. He allowed them three runs and he ''walked'' five of the opponents batters. He is 3-1 with a 4,91 ERA against the Rays.

All three games in the series ended in over, and there is no reason to believe that the same thing won't happen today. Especially as both teams will have their 4th best pitchers on the mound. Boston were very good offensively in the series and they scored 23 runs in total. Rays also had lots of chances but they only managed to score 11 runs so far. Today they simply must win if they wish to stay in the playoffs and they will certainly look for their chances in the attack. Especially as they are well aware that the Red Sox are very strong offensively and they will have to match them in that area in order to win. Boston are at 5,37 runs per game in average this season, and the Rays are at 4,31. The Rays will have Jeremy Helickson on the mound today (12-10, 5,17 ERA) who is playing his worst season since he joined them three years ago. He was struggling in the regular part of the season and he is 2-6 with very bad 7,02 ERA in the last 10 games. On five occasions he allowed more than five runs per game and today he will have to give everything he's got if he wishes to stop Red Sox's excellent offense. Helickson has a 4,77 ERA on Tropicana field this season and he is 4-2 (4,21 ERA) against the Red Sox. He didn't perform good against Red Sox's batters. David Ortiz has a .368 BA against him and he also hit two home runs. Mike Napoli is at .333 and Pedroia also hit one home run against Helickson. The away team will have Jake Peavy (12-5. 4,17 ERA) on the mound today. He signed for them in mid-season from Chicago. Peavy is 4-1 with a 4,07 ERA in Boston's jersey. He is doing fine, but nothing more than that, really. In the last four games he allowed 15 runs to his opponents. But, he was really struggling when playing away from home this season (5,27 ERA). In the last part of the season he had some trouble with controlling the baseball, and that was also the case in his last start against Tampa almost a month ago. He allowed them three runs and he ''walked'' five of the opponents batters. He is 3-1 with a 4,91 ERA against the Rays.