Tampa Bay looks to avoid its first four-game losing streak in nearly a month Tuesday night when it continues its series against the Boston Red Sox.
After poor efforts from starters James Shields and Wade Davis in losses at Baltimore over the weekend, the Rays' bullpen logged another 6 1/3 innings in Monday's 12-5 loss after Jeff Niemann walked three and was tagged for six runs.
7:10 PM ET, September 7, 2010
Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Watch Tampa Bay Rays vs Boston Red Sox mlb live stream baseball scores updates online tv 7/9/2010
"(Niemann is) just having a hard time commanding his fastball, which truly is his strong point. That is just going to take some time," said manager Joe Maddon, whose team has been unable to take advantage of consecutive losses by the East-leading Yankees.
A three-game series against New York begins Monday in St. Petersburg, but the Rays (83-54) are more focused on preventing their first four-game skid since a season-high five-game slide Aug. 4-8.
Giving the ball to David Price (16-6, 2.92 ERA) could give Tampa Bay's overworked bullpen a break. The left-hander struck out seven and threw eight innings of one-run ball in Wednesday's 2-1 victory over Toronto. It was Price's first victory since recor
