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Beckett leads Red Sox into finale with Rays

Jul 17, 2011 - 3:00 PM (Sports Network) - Josh Beckett has been dealing with some nagging injuries of late, but the right-hander seems to be ready to get back on the mound.

Beckett will take the hill when the Boston Red Sox close out a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays tonight at Tropicana Field.

A few weeks ago Beckett had a start pushed back due to an illness, and just recently it has been a problem for the 2003 World Series MVP to get on the mound because of a sore knee. In fact, it even kept Beckett from pitching in the All-Star Game.

However, Beckett seems ready to go this evening and will be looking for his fifth win in six starts and his third in a row. The last time Beckett was in action was back on July 8th when he led the Red Sox past Baltimore.

In the win the hard-throwing right-hander held the Orioles to just three runs on seven hits, but clearly Beckett was not fully healthy and lasted just five innings.

This will be the 11th road start on the year for Beckett, who has never been afraid to go to work on foreign ground. In his previous 10 road outings this year, Beckett is 5-3 with a 2.66 earned run average.

He has also enjoyed success against Tampa in his career, posting an 8-4 mark. However, his best start against the Rays likely came earlier this year, as Beckett surrendered just one hit in nine innings of shutout baseball. He did not walk a batter and struck out six.

The Rays will turn to Jeff Niemann, who has won three of his last four starts, including two in a row. The last time Niemann was in action the big right- hander held the Yankees to just one run on six hits in 7 1/3 innings of work.

Niemann has struggled in his career against Boston. In four starts, the 6-9 hurler is just 2-2 with an earned run average of 6.62.

On Saturday, David Ortiz drove in three runs to help the Red Sox defeat the Rays, 9-5.

Dustin Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 14 games as he went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, while Josh Reddick added a two-run home run for the AL East- leading Red Sox, who rebounded from Friday's loss in the series opener and won for the seventh time in their past eight games. Boston is 1 1/2 games ahead of New York in the division standings.

John Lackey (7-8) won his second straight start as he gave up just four runs -- three earned -- on 10 hits with a walk and seven strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings.

Matt Joyce went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and two RBI for the Rays, who have dropped three of their last four games and sit six games behind the Red Sox in the division standings.

James Shields (8-8) dropped his fourth straight start as he was tagged for six runs on six hits over six innings of work.