Tampa Bay Rays Have Golden Opportunity to Accomplish Weekend Goal After Downing Red Sox 4-3

When the Tampa Bay Rays came to Fenway Park for a big four-game series, all they wanted was an opportunity. An opportunity to make it interesting, to keep the pressure on the Red Sox, to move on to the next portion of their schedule believing that the wild card is still up for grabs.

Realistically, they would have life with a series split but not much at all. Tampa Bay needed to win the set, and after taking Saturday's nail-biter by a 4-3 score, it has that opportunity and the right matchup in which to seize it.

The Rays on Sunday will throw All-Star lefty David Price up against Boston knuckleballer Tim Wakefield with a chance to move within two games of the Red Sox with 10 to play. Price pitched eight scoreless innings in his last start at Fenway Park. Wakefield has a 7.52 ERA over his last four starts.

With fans still filing out of Fenway on Saturday, Tampa Bay had already begun to think of the possibilities.

"A sweep was a great thought," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "But three out of four ain't bad. I think Meat Loaf intended the song to say that."

Maddon is never one to shy away from jocularity, but his amusement spoke volumes when contrasted with the scene in the Boston clubhouse, where multiple players refused to speak with reporters and a whisper in one corner could be heard in the other.

Upstairs, in the media room where Terry Francona meets with the press, the Red Sox skipper spoke to the matter at hand.

"I could care less about that right now. I just want to win tomorrow," Francona said when asked whether he subscribes to the theory that a team needs to finish the season well to have any success in the playoffs.

One of the players that did speak, catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, did his best to deflect the pressure back to the other side. When asked how big it would be for the Rays to hit their goal of winning the series, Saltalamacchia said: "I guess it puts emphasis on them. They're the ones that want to win three of four. We're going to go out there and play the game. We're still shooting for the division."

Now five games behind the New York Yankees in the loss column, that dream is far-fetched. Not impossible, but far-fetched. You cannot say the same about Tampa Bay's dream of catching the Red Sox, at least not if they can cash in on a decided pitching advantage Sunday afternoon.

The opportunity is there.