| SEASON | CAREER |
| W11 | 46 |
| L6 | 30 |
| G26 | 104 |
| IP174.2 | 621.0 |
| BB58 | 243 |
| SO118 | 460 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W18 | 59 |
| L5 | 31 |
| G28 | 122 |
| IP187.2 | 763.0 |
| BB56 | 256 |
| SO181 | 701 |
Although his team's late-season slump could prevent him from a shot at the most important trophy, David Price still has a good chance to take home a very nice piece of hardware.
Seeking to become the American League's first 19-game winner, Price's first order of business Thursday night against the Boston Red Sox will be helping his club to much-needed back-to-back victories.
Opening this month with six wins in eight games appeared to signal the Rays (79-70) were poised to challenge for a wild-card berth and possibly the East Division title. Instead, they entered Wednesday having lost four straight and seven of eight to fall well off the pace in the wild-card race.
They did rebound with one of their biggest offensive performances of the season, collecting 15 hits and 10 walks in a 13-3 rout of the Red Sox. Jeff Keppinger homered among his three hits and Carlos Pena added a home run and three RBIs as Tampa Bay matched a season high for runs.
"We want to do a little of Minnesota Fats ... got to run the table," manager Joe Maddon said. "We've got to believe we can do it. We have to get really hot. We have no alternative. The standings are very difficult, but we are alive and kicking."Reaching the playoffs for a third straight season will take a herculean effort, but having Price (18-5, 2.54 ERA) on the mound following a win should provide the Rays with some momentum.
The left-hander is putting together the best season of his career, leading the league in ERA and is tied with Los Angeles' Jered Weaver for the most wins. Price also ranks among the AL's best in innings (182 2-3), strikeouts (181) and opponent batting average (.224).
Closer Fernando Rodney (43 saves, 0.66 ERA) is also in the running for the Cy Young Award, and Maddon doesn't think being teammates will hurt either of their chances.
"I think if they were both starters it could be, it possibly could be somewhat of a detriment," Maddon told the team's official website. "But the fact that Fernando is relieving and David is starting, I think really separates them, just like it separates their role on the field. I think they'll be viewed differently because of that."
Price won his second consecutive start by limiting the Yankees to two runs and five hits over seven innings in a 6-4 victory Friday. He is 10-1 with a 2.16 ERA in his last 15 starts, striking out 103 in 104 innings during that stretch.
In three starts this season against the Red Sox, Price is 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA.
Wednesday's loss assured Boston (68-82) of its first losing season since 1997. The Red Sox and Yankees were the only teams to finish at least .500 in each of the last 14 years.
Jacoby Ellsbury went 3 for 3 in the loss and is batting .432 (16 for 37) with eight RBIs in his last nine games.
He'll try to continue his hot hitting in support of Clay Buchholz (11-6, 4.33), who hasn't won in over a month.
The right-hander is 0-3 with a 4.89 ERA in five starts since beating Baltimore on Aug. 16. Despite that lack of success, Buchholz has been one of the team's most reliable starters since the All-Star break, posting a 3.16 ERA in 12 outings.
He is coming off a solid performance at Toronto on Saturday, yielding two runs and four hits over seven innings in a 3-2 win.
Buchholz is 1-2 with a 4.62 ERA in four starts this season against the Rays.
Evan Longoria and Ben Zobrist - Tampa Bay's No. 3 and 4 hitters - are a combined 8 for 50 lifetime off Buchholz.
@
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPS
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Mike Aviles | 7 | .143 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .143 | .429 | .286 |
| Marlon Byrd | 5 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .375 | .375 | .000 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | 15 | .267 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .353 | 1.086 | .733 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 15 | .133 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | .278 | .478 | .200 |
| Darnell McDonald | 21 | .333 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | .462 | 1.224 | .762 |
| David Ortiz | 18 | .167 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 | .318 | .596 | .278 |
| Dustin Pedroia | 20 | .300 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | .417 | .967 | .550 |
| Nick Punto | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Jason Repko | 5 | .400 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .400 | 1.000 | .600 |
| Cody Ross | 6 | .167 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .375 | .708 | .333 |
| Jarrod Saltalamacchia | 8 | .125 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .300 | .550 | .250 |
| Kelly Shoppach | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | .000 |
| Ryan Sweeney | 4 | .500 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.000 | .500 |
| Kevin Youkilis | 22 | .364 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .400 | .855 | .455 |
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Reid Brignac | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .250 | .250 | .000 |
| Chris Gimenez | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | .000 |
| Desmond Jennings | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .000 |
| Matt Joyce | 7 | .286 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | .400 | .686 | .286 |
| Jeff Keppinger | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Evan Longoria | 24 | .208 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | .296 | .588 | .292 |
| Jose Molina | 8 | .500 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 1.125 | .625 |
| Carlos Pena | 19 | .158 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | .238 | .606 | .368 |
| Will Rhymes | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .000 |
| Sean Rodriguez | 4 | .250 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .250 | .500 | .250 |
| Luke Scott | 22 | .227 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 4 | .320 | .911 | .591 |
| B.J. Upton | 11 | .455 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | .571 | 1.389 | .818 |
| Ben Zobrist | 17 | .176 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | .333 | .509 | .176 |
 Boston Red Sox |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 07, 2012 | Jarrod Saltalamacchia | Day-to-Day | Left game - back spasms |
| September 02, 2012 | Jacoby Ellsbury | Day-to-Day | Sore right wrist |
| August 25, 2012 | David Ortiz | 15-Day DL | Aggravated right Achilles strain |
| August 25, 2012 | Daniel Nava | 15-Day DL | Sprained left wrist |
| August 25, 2012 | Daniel Nava | 15-Day DL | Sprained left wrist |
| August 24, 2012 | Franklin Morales | 60-Day DL | Left shoulder fatigue |
 Tampa Bay Rays |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| September 11, 2012 | Ryan Roberts | Day-to-Day | Left game - strained left forearm |
| September 08, 2012 | Desmond Jennings | Day-to-Day | Lower back stiffness |
| September 07, 2012 | David Price | Day-to-Day | Left shoulder soreness |
| August 31, 2012 | Sean Rodriguez | 15-Day DL | Fractured right hand |
| August 31, 2012 | Sean Rodriguez | 15-Day DL | Fractured right hand |
| August 28, 2012 | Matt Joyce | Day-to-Day | Left game - strained left forearm |
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- The Tampa Bay Rays are trying to make it back to the playoffs for the third consecutive season, and it doesn't look good right now.
Then again, it looked even worse heading into the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday night.
B.J. Upton hit a game-ending, three-run homer off Vicente Padilla , capping Tampa Bay's six-run rally and lifting the Rays to a sorely needed 7-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night.
"That last inning we dug deep and ... it says a lot," Upton said. "We can definitely cash it in, but we're not, and we're going to finish this thing out strong. You never know what's going to happen."
Tampa Bay salvaged a split of the four-game series and remained 5 1/2 games back of Oakland and Baltimore in the AL wild-card race. The Rays (80-70) have 12 games left on their schedule.
"That was definitely the Rays' magic of old," said Matt Joyce , who led off the big inning with a single against Andrew Bailey . "Hopefully we can muster up a lot more of it in the last couple of games here. Anything is possible."
Bailey (1-1) gave up four hits and a walk before Padilla came in to face Upton, who drove a 2-1 pitch over the wall in center for his 24th homer. Burke Badenhop (2-2) recorded one out to get the win.
It was only the third victory in 10 games for the Rays, who captured the wild card last season after being nine games behind on Sept. 3.
"We've been missing a little bit of the magic this year, and it doesn't get much more magical than that moment," manager Joe Maddon said. "I've been saying: `If you believe you can do it, you can; if you don't believe it, you cannot.' We've done it before, we just did it again tonight. I want to believe that's who we are."
Clay Buchholz outpitched Tampa Bay ace David Price , tossing seven innings of four-hit ball before handing a 2-0 lead to the Boston bullpen. Mauro Gomez hit a two-out RBI triple in the eighth for the Red Sox, but they couldn't hold on for the victory.
Jose Iglesias had three hits for Boston, including his first career home run. Ryan Lavarnway and Gomez each had two hits and an RBI.
Price allowed three runs and eight hits in 7 1-3 innings. He struck out seven and walked one while throwing 119 pitches.
"I felt like (Buchholz) outpitched me," Price said. "But I guess it keeps us in this race so that was a great win for us. We needed to win that game."
Cody Ross ' two-out double in the sixth gave Boston the lead and ended Price's streak of 29 1-3 scoreless innings at home. Lavarnway drove in Ross with a single.
Ben Zobrist drove in the Rays' first run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly off Junichi Tazawa . It was the Rays' first run in Price's last three starts at home.
Buchholz struck out four and walked two. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 4.07 ERA in his last six starts.
The six-run ninth inning matched a franchise record for the Rays, who had only one run and five hits through the first eight innings.
"Buchholz, obviously, deserved a `W.' I let him down," Bailey said. "I didn't get ahead of guys, couldn't put guys away, just didn't pitch. There's no excuse. There's nothing I did right that inning."
NOTES: The eight combined strikeouts by Price and Wade Davis left the Rays with 1,264 for the season, two short of the American League record set by the New York Yankees in 2001. ... With two games left at Boston next week, the Red Sox lead the season series 9-7. ... Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia went 0 for 16 in the four-game series. ... The Rays have scored 20 runs in their last two games after producing only 26 in the eight preceding games . . . Lavarnway has seven RBIs in his last seven games.
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Boston Red Sox
