The Tampa Bay Ray have continued to struggle offensively recently and will look to put that all behind them as they take on the Boston Red Sox on the road Wednesday night at 7:10 p.m. ET.
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Via ESPN:
On Tuesday, the Red Sox (44-29) held the Rays (36-35) to two runs and 10 hits while sweeping a doubleheader. Tampa Bay has scored just 14 runs while losing six of seven and is hitting .200 during that span. Evan Longoria is 0 for his last 10, James Loney is 1 for his last 25 and Desmond Jennings is batting .192 during that seven-game span.
The Red Sox have won nine of 11 this season against the Rays, including all five games at Fenway Park. Tampa Bay has totaled five runs and batted .148 in those contests.
Boston's Ryan Dempster (4-7, 4.21 ERA) will look to keep those bats in check. He's posted a 3.25 ERA and held opposing hitters to a .216 average in his last four starts. The right-hander threw a season-high 122 pitches in a 2-0 loss at Baltimore on Friday, yielding two runs and five hits over 7 2/3 innings.
"Ryan did a great job, threw a great game," catcher David Ross said. "That was a huge, huge performance. Those last innings, I think, were his best innings. The slider was really sharp, fastball was sinking."
Dempster did walk five in that outing, however, in a continuation of his season-long control issues. He is fourth in the majors with 40 walks, including 21 over his last six starts.
Tampa Bay starter Jeremy Hellickson (4-3, 5.67) aims to overcome a discouraging start his last time out. Coming off of six shutout innings against Baltimore, Hellickson had his worst game of the season Thursday, allowing eight runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings of a 10-1 loss to Kansas City. It marked the sixth time this season that the right-hander allowed five-plus runs.
