Red Sox drop nail-biter 2-1 to Rays: Fall from 1st in AL east

For the Boston Red Sox, last night's game with the Rays was one representative of the sky above Boston: dark and gloomy all the while spiked with a hint of excitement and unknown futures.

You see for Red Sox fans, the facet of last night, embodied by the gloominess of the sky was the final score: 2-1 but even more so, what that sickening loss represents: their first loss in 3 games and a return to second place in the AL East. But like that brilliant display of natures nearly artistic clouds, there was a hint of excitement and hope in the 9 inning nail biter that was last night's game. And that came mere minutes into the night.

On nearly the first pitch Sox starter Felix Dubront threw, you could tell that the night would be a bad one for him. But nevertheless, after allowing 2 singles in the first frame of the game, a crucial strikeout of DH Luke Scott got Dubront out to trouble early on. Sadly no matter how lucky they were in the top half of the first, the Red Sox touch died at the hands of Ray's pitcher David Price and it would stay that way for most of the night as the Rays ace pitched nearly 5 innings of perfect baseball walking none and striking out 5, all on one hit baseball. But going back to the sky, with an atmosphere (literally) filled with indecision, so was this game as while Price dominated, Dubront continued to stall out as he needed an immaculate game by the fielders behind him to keep his opposing hitters at bay.

Nevertheless, after the two teams traded its for nearly the entire game following the 4th inning, we came to the ninth nearly knotted at 2-1. The Red Sox seemed beat until the final factor of that sky metaphor kicked in: excitement. With just one out in the bottom of the ninth, Jacoby Ellsbury began his methodical march around the bases by singling to right field and then stealing second. Yet even with the tying run in scoreing position, the Sox soon had their backs against the wall as with two outs Ellsbury was still stranded on second.

Yet with the pitch count to 1st basemen Mike Napoli knotted at 2 balls and 2 strikes, a wild pitch allowed Ellsbury to advance to 3rd. For the Red Sox the tying run was mere feet away from the plate but in the end moving their star center fielder the final 90 feet from 3rd to Home would prove too difficult for Napoli as for the 3rd time on the day, he struck out.

The only difference is that this time, that simple strike out cost the Red Sox the game and in turn, the supremacy as the AL's top team.