The Tampa Bay Rays are fighting for the postseason while the Boston Red Sox are completely out of the race and aiming to simply rebuild for next season. The Red Sox made very few moves at the trade deadline after being predicted as heavy sellers while the Rays opted to stay put and stick with their original roster. Now Tampa Bay must continue to win out while the Red Sox are simply trying to salvage the season.
The Red Sox are trying to get the bats moving. In their past five games they are batting .328 with 33 runs. Their offense is finding some rhythm with David Ortiz and Xander Bogaerts getting solid games. Ortiz is currently batting .429 with 13 RBI while Bogaerts is hitting .386 for the month of July.
The Red Sox will put Joe Kelly on the mound to try and keep some momentum going. The pitcher is currently helping fill in with injury as Clay Buchholz remains on the disabled list. He is not expected to remain in the rotation once Buchholz's health improves. He is 2-6 with a 5.94 ERA on the season after giving up five runs and seven hits in just over three innings of play. According to the Boston Globe, no formal decision has been made regarding the best route to take with the pitching rotation.
The Rays have been struggling on the road, losing their last 11 of 14 prior to Friday's game. They are banking on Evan Longoria who is currently hitting .375 against Boston this season with an eight-game hit streak against the team .Tampa Bay will start Matt Moore who struggled in his last start with the team, giving up five runs and eight hits in a loss to the Baltimore Orioles. That is just the second time this season he has made it through five innings of play. His ERA has ballooned to 7.61 on the season as he just continues to struggle with consistency.
The Rays are fourth in the American League East and unless they win out they will not make the playoffs. Boston on the other hand is sitting with one of the worst records in division and will not make it into the postseason.