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Boston Red Sox Tickets - Coming Down the Stretch
The Boston Red Sox are coming down the stretch run of the season and they're in good (but not great) position to make the playoffs. As of August 30, 2009, the Red Sox trail the NL East-leading New York Yankees by six full games. Catching their rivals will be a tall order, but it's not impossible. More likely would be the scenario where the Red Sox snag the Wild Card spot in the American League, but their position atop the Wild Card race in the AL is a bit more tenuous. The Texas Rangers are just 2.5 games back in the wild card hunt. Tampa Bay is four and a half games back from Boston. So the pressure is certainly on to win in the month of September.
One thing the Red Sox are focused on is winning on the road in Tampa Bay. Beginning September 1, the Red Sox will play a three-game series against their division rivals, the Rays, in Tropicana Field. The Trop hasn't exactly been a fun place for the BoSox. In fact, according to a recent Ian Browne article at MLB.com, Terry Francona, the Red Sox's manager, summed up his feelings on Tropicana Field: "It hasn't been real pleasant. Those cowbells stay with you for about a week, and we certainly haven't had a lot of success, but we've got a day to gather our bullpen and get some rest. It will be fun. It's a really exciting time of year to play good teams -- to play any team. But especially a team that has had their way with us down there. It will be fun to play."
The Red Sox are 4-8 this season when playing the Rays, and trail in the runs-scored category by a whopping 47-74 margin when they're matched up. The Red Sox lost their last two games played at Tropicana Field back in the beginning of August, and they lost an away series with the Rays 3-1 in the beginning of the season as well. Oh yeah, and last year in the playoffs the Boston Red Sox lost the American League Championship Series to the Rays four games to three. Fans who buy Boston Red Sox tickets probably haven't forgotten about that.
What's the key to picking up some games on the road- not just in Tampa, but in other stadiums down the stretch? Pitching. Boston catcher Jason Varitek summed it up: "First and foremost, we have to pitch the ball well. This team is still going to rest on how well we pitch the ball. If we continue to do that and get quality starts day in and day out, we're going to win our fair share of games."
Luckily, Boston has one of the better team ERAs in the American League, at 4.31, and they're second in the AL in total strikeouts this season at 995, just a few under the league-leading Yankees' 1,009 Ks. Jon Lester has been getting hot lately, which is good news for Boston baseball fans. During the month of August he started five games and threw for a 2.41 ERA. Lester is slated to start on September 1 against the Rays.
About the Author StubHub has sponsored this article, which was written by Brent Warnken. Stubhub.com is one of the leaders in the business of selling Boston Red Sox tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theatre tickets, or even special events tickets.
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