Today at 5:37 p.m. ET, the Tampa Bay Rays (0-1) and Boston Red Sox (1-0) continue their best-of-five series in Game 2 of the American League Division Series from Fenway Park. The game can be live streamed here. Tampa Bay fans can hear all the action on WDAE 620 while Red Sox fans can do the same on WEEI 93.7,
Boston looks to take full control of the series after a dominating 12-2 victory in Game 1. Tampa Bay will hope that former Cy Young award winner David Price (10-8, 3.33 ERA) will help them draw even in the series while the Red Sox turn to John Lackey (12-12, 6.41) in hopes to take a 2-0 series lead before the series shifts to Tampa Bay for Game 3.
Despite a great start to the series, the Red Sox are still approaching the game as if they are underdogs.
"You've truly got to play like your back is against the wall every single game," said Red Sox left fielder Jonny Gomes per MLB.com. "We talked about it earlier with momentum in the playoffs, and that pretty much is what wins games, is momentum. We can't take our foot off the gas pedal."
The Rays suffered from some bad starting pitching and defense in Game 1, and they'll have to tighten up if the team hopes to get back into the series this afternoon, and Rays manager Joe Maddon doesn't believe the Game 1 loss will affect the team in Game 2.
"Twenty-four hours can make a huge difference," Maddon told MLB.com. "That's just one game, baby. That's just one. We'll be back tomorrow, I promise you. We'll be ready to play. We will not be affected mentally by tonight's game."
The Rays won three consecutive elimination games in three different cities just to get to this series, so Maddon knows his team has the mental toughness it takes to get back into this series.
Price took the hill for Tampa in its one-game playoff in Game No. 163 and led them to a victory over the Texas Rangers in order to get into the postseason. Lackey, meanwhile, is 6-3 with a 2.47 ERA in 13 games at Fenway Park this season.
Tampa Bay and Boston are 4-4 all-time against each other in the postseason. The Rays only had four hits Friday while every hitter in Boston's lineup had at least one hit. While Boston's offensive weapons were on full display, second baseman Dustin Pedroia didn't dwell on it for too long as he quickly looked to Game 2 after the triumph.
"Every game's big," Pedroia said, according to MLB.com. Every pitch is big. That's what the playoffs are all about. One pitch can change everything."
Pedroia was third in the league with 193 hits and seventh in doubles with 42. The Rays look to get their offense going, and they have potential offensive weapons such as cleanup hitter Evan Longoria, who finished 10th in the league with 32 homers and added 88 RBIs while batting .269.
The Red Sox look to take all the momentum in the series while the Rays are hoping to nod it up at one win apiece when these two teams matchup this afternoon.
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