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Red Sox continue dominance of Devil Rays

Aug 22, 2007 - 3:42 AM ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- What a difference a week made for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' Andy Sonnanstine.

The Boston Red Sox roughed up Sonnanstine and the Devil Rays en route to an 8-6 victory, six days after the rookie righthander had earned a win at Fenway Park.

Coco Crisp and former Devil Rays shortstop Julio Lugo each had two RBI as the Red Sox moved a season-best 26 games over .500 and matched the second-best 126-game start in franchise history.

"It's tough to face a team back-to-back, let alone the Boston Red Sox," Sonnanstine said.

On August 15, Sonnanstine (2-9) held the Red Sox to four hits and three runs to snap a personal two-month winless streak.

Tuesday proved to be a different story, however, as the 24-year-old was pounded for eight hits and seven earned runs in five innings.

"I think I was a little less aggressive and had one bad inning," Sonnanstine said. "Too many times I was trying to make the perfect pitch.

"I probably got away from the game plan a little bit. The fastball was working last time I faced them."

Boston's Jon Lester (2-0) allowed five runs on four hits - including two home runs - in 5 1/3 innings. The cancer survivor picked up his first victory since July 23, ending a streak of four consecutive no-decisions.

"The bullpen picked me up," Lester said. "I was just inconsistent. At times I was good and at other times I was bad. As long as I keep the walks down, I'll be OK. The bullpen picked me up unbelievably. So did the offense. It was a good team win."

Jonathan Papelbon got the final out of the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 30th save. "This (30 saves) was a goal I set for myself, to be a dominant closer year after year," Papelbon said. "I feel like I was meant to be a closer."

Tied at 2-2, Boston took control with a five-run fourth. With the bases loaded, the Red Sox strung together consecutive hits from Jason Varitek, Crisp and Lugo to forge a 7-2 lead.

"We kept coming back," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "We had opportunities but that five-run inning is so hard to overcome."

The Devil Rays closed within 7-5 on Akinori Iwamura's three-run homer in the fifth and added an unearned run in the eighth, but fell to Boston for the ninth time in 11 meetings this season.

Tampa Bay's only hit in the first four innings was a two-run home run by Carlos Pena in the first inning. Every Red Sox starter had at least one hit.

"When you get something from one through nine it enhances your chances to win," Boston manager Terry Francona said.

In the first inning, David Ortiz had a rare triple - only the 12th of his career and his first since August 2006 - and scored on Manny Ramirez's sacrifice fly.

"Ortiz can get them going when he needs to," Francona said. "He felt that triple for about five innings."

The burly Ortiz also managed to leg out an infield single in the fourth, which sparked the rally.