Red Sox return the favor against the Rays

ESPN.com

Updated: May 4, 2008

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Kevin Youkilis drove in four as the Red Sox finished off a sweep of the Rays.

HITTING PRETTY

By Mark Simon, ESPN Research

A week ago, 10 runs were enough for the Rays to sweep the Red Sox in a three-game series at Tropicana Field. The Rays were able to match that run total this weekend at Fenway Park. And, you guessed it, another sweep. Only this time, the sweepers were the Red Sox, who pounded Rays pitching over three days at Fenway.

MONDAY NIGHT BASEBALL
• Boston at Detroit, 7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN

David Ortiz may have sat out on Sunday, but that didn't stop Boston's offense, which pumped out six extra-base hits and came up with five stolen bases (the most in a game for the Red Sox since 2002) in beating frequent nemesis Scott Kazmir. These Red Sox win with power and speed and by getting contributions from the likes of Kevin Youkilis, who snapped a 3-for-26 skid that spanned his previous eight games, with four RBIs on Sunday.

RED SOX SWEEP RAYS (MAY 2-4)
TB BOS
Runs 10 26
Batting average .228 .368
HR 3 2
Extra-base hits 7 18
Stolen bases 0 6

RAYS SWEEP RED SOX (APRIL 25-27)
BOS TB
Runs 5 10
Batting average .173 .202
HR 0 2
Extra-base hits 1 7
Stolen bases 1 5

Past Baseball Tonight Clubhouses: May 1 | April 30 | April 29 | April 28 | April 27 | April 24

FORWARD THINKING: MONDAY

Daisuke Matsuzaka • Red Sox at Tigers, 7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN: Daisuke Matsuzaka (4-0, 2.52 ERA) had his way with Detroit earlier this year, going 6 2/3 innings without permitting a run in a 5-0 win. Last year, though, he was hammered (10 hits, 6 runs) in his only outing at Comerica Park. He faces Jeremy Bonderman (2-2, 3.86 ERA), who handcuffed the Yankees in his last outing.

Ervin Santana • Angels at Royals, 8:10 p.m. ET: The Ervin Santana (5-0, 2.48 ERA) revival tour heads to Kansas City. Looking for a reason why Santana, 7-14 last year, is perfect this year? He has allowed just nine walks over the 40 innings he's pitched in six starts. His opponent, Brett Tomko (1-3, 6.26 ERA), has been knocked around in his past two appearances, giving up 18 hits and 12 runs in 7 1/3 innings.

Jamie Moyer • Phillies at Arizona, 9:40 p.m. ET: Max Scherzer (0-0, 0.00 ERA) was literally untouchable in his major-league debut. He struck out seven and did not allow a hit or a walk over 4 1/3 innings. Scherzer is 23; Jamie Moyer, who will pitch opposite the rookie Monday, is 45. Scherzer was a month shy of his second birthday when Moyer made his big-league debut.

• Complete list of pitching probables for Monday's games


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BBTN ON THE AIR: MONDAY

TIME WHO'S ON?
10 p.m. ET
ESPN		 Host: Karl Ravech
Analysts: John Kruk, Buck Showalter
12 a.m. ET
ESPN		 Host: Karl Ravech
Analysts: John Kruk, Buck Showalter

BASEBALL TONIGHT MINUTE: SCHERZER STARTS

SUNDAY DOUBLE PLAY

Every Sunday on the 12:30 p.m. ET "Baseball Tonight" show, Karl Ravech, John Kruk and Steve Phillips take part in the Sunday Double Play competition. Each of them selects a starting pitcher and a hitter to play for Sunday's games. They compete in three different categories -- wins, hits and home runs -- based on the results of their selections. The results are cumulative for the season.

This past Sunday's pitcher selections and results:

John: Roy Halladay (win)
Steve: Kenny Rogers
Karl: Joe Saunders (win)

This past Sunday's hitter selections and results:

John: Bobby Abreu (3 hits, 0 HR)
Steve: Matt Kemp (1 hit, 0 HR)
Karl: Vladimir Guerrero (1 hit, 0 HR)

Here are the standings after the first five Sundays:

Wins Hits HRs
John 2 10 0
Steve 1 5 0
Karl 2 4 1

Tune into "Baseball Tonight" on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET for the latest Sunday Double Play selections.

SUNDAY'S NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES

GOOD
Chipper Jones• Chipper Jones raised his aveage to .425 by going 3-for-6 with a homer. He also knocked in five runs in Atlanta's win against Cincinnati.
BAD
Carlos Silva• The Yankees teed off on Carlos Silva, pummeling him for 11 hits and eight runs in three innings. It was Silva's first loss of the year.
UGLY
Eric Gagne• Eric Gagne blew his fifth save of the season Sunday. He walked three, gave up two hits and two runs and the Brewers lost to the Astros in 12 innings.

FANTASY: PREVIEW OF MONDAY'S GAMES

Adam Madison examines the pitching matchups in store for the nine games on Monday's schedule in the American League and National League.

Fantasy Adam also looks at current injuries and details player reports that could help shape the way you put together your roster for Monday's games. Daily Notes

NEWS AND NOTES

• Phladelphia manager Charlie Manuel got his 500th career win in the Phillies' 6-5 victory over San Francisco on Sunday.

• The Yankees scored six runs in the third inning Sunday against Seattle. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Yankees were the last team in the majors to score at least five runs in an inning this season.