After being beaten in game 6 by Josh Beckett and the Red Sox, a game the Rays should have won, the Rays beat Jon Lester in game 7, a game they should have lost. Bottom line: the Rays played better in 4 of the 7 games played and that’s all that really matters.

Both sides had injuries to key players. Boston was missing SP Curt Schilling who was out for the whole year and then lost 3B and 2007 World Series MVP Mike Lowell to a torn labrum in his hip during the post season. For the Rays, they have gone through two rounds of the playoffs without their closer, Troy Percival, which is probably a bigger loss than the Red Sox seeing that they won 95 games without Schilling and even more than the loss of Lowell, too.

Taking a look back at game 6, Beckett vs. Shields, the Red Sox won 4-2. They have got to stop calling Shields “Big Game” until he wins some big games. H went 0-2 in his two big games pitched in the ALCS. In game 1 he lost to Matsuzaka and he lost game 6 to Beckett who wasn’t even his usual post-season dominant self. Beckett did; however, pitch like a veteran. He didn’t have his best stuff, probably due to some injury (oblique or otherwise) and he knew better than to try to overpower hitters. He has learned how to pitch rather than just throw, which relies on having excellant stuff.

Game 7 was a 3-1 victory by the Rays in which both starting pitchers pitched well. One, Matt Garza, just pitched better than the other , Jon Lester who had  a no hitter going for the first 3 innings. The Rays just out played the Red Sox! Even the Red Sox players have admitted this much. They did so on the mound, the basepaths and at the plate. You just gotta like this Rays team. They’ve got spirit and they have a great manager, unorthodox at times, but effective, especially given the make up of his team.

I guess 9 really does equal  8 and it must also equal 2.

This ought to be a great World Series match up, I just hope that it will be viewed as such and reflects in the ratings.

In tomorrow’s match up we have Boston’s new Ace of the staff, Jon Lester going up against the Rays # 3 starter in Matt Garza who pitched very well in game 3.

But, I have to give the advantage to the Sox in game 7 as the momentum has most definitely shifted. The Rays had their chance in game 5 to put away a sleeping giant and they couldn’t get the job done! Now this young team with all this talent and great potential look like the pressure is finally catching up to them and Boston has their old swagger back. The Rays are making errors which is uncharacteristic of a team that has one of the best defensive players in the American League.

This won’t hurt them long term as they should be contenders in the vicious AL East for years to come. Infact, this will probably make them stronger in the long run as these sort of situations usually do. This will happen with the Rays because they have a strong manager leading them and they have a solid core of players who are both talented and tough mentally as well. If not, they would have folded under the pressure well before the playoffs even started.

Bottom line is that the Sox have the experience, the momentum and the better talent going into game 7 and they will win and advance to host the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series and defend their title as World Series Champions.

Phillies be afraid, be very afraid! The Red Sox have a chance, if they win game 7, to become the first back to back World Series winners since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000.

First up is the scary rookie 3B Evan Longoria. This is the biggest at bat of the inning in my opinion. Longoria grounds out to SS Jed Lowrie. 1 out!

Boston is 2 outs away from forcing a 7th game once again!

CF Carl Crawford is up with 1 out and just swung at a ball for strike two. The Rays hitters have seemed to be trying too hard in this game at times! Papelbon strikes him out swinging.

DH Willie Aybar is up but this is a mismatch if you ask me! Count is 0-1 and the next pitch is a smoking line drive to 3B Kevin Youkilis!

Boston Wins 4-2 and force a game 7! Again in the ALCS for the second year in a row!

LF Bay is 5 for 8 against Bradford in his career. He grounds out to the SS.

The Rays remove Bradford for Trevor Miller.

I’m not sure about this move. It doesn’t make much sense as Bradford has been doing well and he’s gotten two outs in the inning.

1B Kotsay faces Miller and swings at the first pitch which is a no no against a fresh young pitcher in an important game such as this. You need to make him work. Bad Kotsay. A veteran like him should know better than that!

SS Jason Bartlett is leading off the 8th down 4-2. He was hit by a pitch again. No outs, man on first.

2B Iwamura is 0-3 tonight. Masterson looks a bit nervous up there right now, but Varitek, with a 1-0 count goes out to speak with him. The count is now 2-0 and pitching coach John Farrell checks in with their young pitcher and he then throws strike 1. Then a slider for strike 2. The count is now 2-2. Masterson strikes him out swinging! 1 out.

CF B.J. Upton is now up and they have to be careful with him the way he’s been swinging the bat in this series, but he swings at a pitcher’s pitch for strike one and the count is now 0-2. Upton has fouled off the next two pitches to stay alive. Then pops out to 2B Pedroia for the second out.

1B Carlos Pena is now up with 2 outs and Bartlett on first. He pops up to SS Lowrie in short RF (they play Pena in one of those shifts). 3 outs.

Manager Joe Maddon, probably this year’s manager of the year has just taken out Balfour, replaced by Chad Bradford, the knuckelscrapping submarine pitcher to face 2B Pedroia.

2B Pedroia faces Bradford with Crisp on 1B without any outs. Will Crisp take off to remove the possible DP? Pedroia is 4 for 6 against Bradford and hits it off Bradford who knocked the ball down and throws out Pedroia. Crisp advances to 2B.

They are walking David Ortiz. Men on first and second with 1 out.

3B Kevin Youkilis is up. He has 2 RBIs on the night, but hits into a 5-4-3 Double Play to end the inning.

C Navarro is up and the count is 0-2 then he hits a towering pop up in foul ground to LF Jason Bay. 2 outs.

RF Zobrist flies out to the warning track in CF as Crisp makes the catch for the third out.

LF Bay is hit by a pitch on the hip.

1B Kotsay is 1-3 in the game, a single in the second inning. He hits a high chopper to Howell, the pitcher and is thrown out at 1B. Bay moves onto 2B.

Howell comes out of the game with Grant Balfour coming into the game. By the way, this is not a name I’d want if I was an MLB pitcher.

SS Lowrie is up with 1 out and Bay on 2B. He is 0-3 today. He walked by Balfour.

C Varitek is now batting. There is a passed ball by Navarro and the runners advance. Full Count. Varitek pops out to shallow RF. 3 outs.

CF B.J. Upton and he lines out to 3B Youkilis. 1 out.

1B Pena, whos is hitting .350 with 3 HRs and 6 RBIs in this series is now up with 1 out. Full count. It was a late call, but Pena strikes out looking. 2 outs.

3B Longoria is 0-2 tonight and is hitting .125 in his last 6 at bats. He walks. It’s the second walk issued by Boston in this game. 1 on and 2 outs.

LF Crawford is up with a 0-2 count. He grounds out to SS who tosses to 2B for the force out of Longoria. 3 outs.

Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon is now starting to stretch out in his pre warm-up routine.