VS. 
Varitek's Blast In 6th Sparks Red Sox To 5-2 Win
Varitek Watches It Go
Tropicana Field,Tampa Bay,Fl-In a well played ballgame between two budding rivals,the Boston Red Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 here in Tropicana Field.Following two scoreless innings to start the game,Boston's Dustin Pedroia smashed a two out single off of Rays starter Matt Garza to give the Red Sox the early 1-0 lead after 2 and a half.In the bottom of the inning,it was BJ Upton's time to shine as he took Jon Lester deep to left for his third homer of the year tying the game at one.In the fourth,the Rays struck again,this time it was Gabe Kapler,who's line drive double down the left field line scored Dioner Navarro and gave Tampa the 2-1 lead.In the 5th following a leadoff triple by Jacoby Ellsbury to start the inning,Kevin Youkilis tied it again with a clean base hit to right.Following a Mike Lowell leadoff single to start the 6th,Jason Varitek came to the plate against the Rays Dan Wheeler(0-2) and smashed a 422 foot home run to center field to give Boston the 4-2 lead.The Sox added another run in the 7th when Jed Lowrie scored on a Varitek double play ball to make it 5-2.From there,the Red Sox bullpen put the clamps on the young Rays,holding them to just a single hit over the final three and a third as Boston went on to win 5-2.
MLB News And Notes
The New York Mets,have finally tired of the inconsistency of pitcher Oliver Perez,sending him as well as minor league catcher Francisco Pena to the Tampa Bay Rays for former Phillies slugger Pat Burrell.The move was met with wide spread criticism throughout all of Mets country,as fans wondered why the Mets would make such a trade.
The Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves have agreed on a trade that would send 32 year old LF Marcus Thames to the Braves in exchange for 27 year ols 2B Omar Infante and 21 year old minor league pitcher Kasey Kiker.
The Kansas City Royals will be without the services of third baseman Alex Gordon for upwards of of month due to a broken suffered in today's game against the Blue Jays,Gordon was injured in the 6th inning when Jays starter Roy Halladay lost control of a pitch and nailed Gordon on the hand.The Royals would go on to win the game 4-1.
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