Nine Red Sox-Rays Stats of Note

With the threat of rain ready to disrupt the late afternoon game at Fenway Park, the Rays and Red Sox are ready to face off in what could be a classic series.

Don't underestimate how closely matched these two teams are. While Boston won the season series, 12-7 between these two clubs but three of the Sox wins were walkoffs against the Rays bullpen.

Here are nine unbiased Red Sox/Rays stats

1. Red Sox pitchers had a 2.93 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP against the Rays. Rays pitchers had a 3.54 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP against the Red Sox.
2. In Boston, the Rays pitchers were 4-6 with a 2.63 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP against the Red Sox. In Tampa, the Rays pitchers were 3-6 with a 4.45 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP against the Red Sox.
3. In Boston, the Red Sox pitchers were 6-4 with a 2.27 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP against the Rays. In Tampa, the Red Sox pitchers were 6-3 with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP against the Rays.
4. The leading batters for the Red Sox vs. the Rays: Mike Carp hit .429 and David Ortiz hit .281. The leading batters for the Rays vs. the Red Sox: Jose Molina hit .429 and Sean Rodriguez hit .318.
5. Strikeout numbers that are scary: In 60 AB Mike Napoli struck out 26 times; in 64 AB Stephen Drew struck out 25 times vs. Tampa. In 78 AB Evan Longoria struck out 26 times; in 80 AB Desmond Jennings struck out 22 times vs. Boston.
6. Strikeout numbers that are sweet: In 24.2 IP Felix Doubront struck out 22 Rays; in 25 IP Jon Lester struck out 21 Rays; in 18 IP Ryan Dempster struck out 20 Rays;. In 32.2 IP David Price struck out 30 Sox; in 22.2 IP Alex Cobb struck out 20 Sox; in 18.1 IP Jeremy Hellickson struck out 20 Sox.
7. Rays need to score early against Game 1 starting pitcher Jon Lester: In his four starts, in the first 50 pitches in each game covering 200 pitches, the Rays hit .341 against Lester. From pitch 51 on, Lester threw 201 pitches against the Rays and Tampa hit just .232.
8. On May 14 in Tampa, today's starting pitcher Matt Moore, went six innings threw 100 pitches and held the Sox to a .143 avg. On July 22, in Boston, Moore threw a 100-pitch complete game shutout holding Boston to a .071 BAA. In two starts, Moore allowed Boston a total of two singles, two doubles, and a David Ortiz homer.
9. My Red Sox MVP Koji Uehara threw 10.2 innings against the Rays allowing two hits, two walks, no earned runs, striking out 13, while winning one and saving one. In 61.1 Red Sox bullpen IP against Tampa, Boston recorded 61 strikeouts and had a .205 BAA. In 6.2 IP against Boston, Fernando Rodney lost one, saved one, gave up four hits, but walked eight. In spite of whiffing 12, he allowed five ER. Overall, in 57.2 Tampa Bay bullpen IP against Boston, the Rays recorded 61 strikeouts, walked 27, allowed 24 ER, had a .190 BAA, but were 1-6.