Score Runs, Dammit

We better hope that when we meet the Rays in the playoffs we score a lot more runs than they do, or we are Effed to the Ayyyy.

Just for kicks, I took at a look at the results of the 17 games the Sox and Rays have played thus far, to confirm whether the results of the past few games (squeakers won by the Rays in the bottom of the ninth or in extra innings) were really as common to Boston/Tampa contests in 2008 as they suddenly felt.

Unfortunately, the results match my initial intuitions.

Going into tonight's contest, the Sox are 8 and 9 versus the Rays. In all nine losses, Boston has never lost by more than three runs; they've lost once by three, twice by two, and a really demoralizing six times by one run. Just as bad are the run differences on the win side: never less than three runs, with an average of five. Of course, these are your 2008 Sox, the team whose batting splits drop 30 points (.293/.374/.470 at home, .271/.347/.430 away) when they hit the road; some drop off will occur and we're just reaping the whirlwind when we play the Rays in Tampa. I guess I should grateful: those splits are the best in the AL for both home and away and they're more consistent than the leading teams in the NL. I just hate losing games in the last few minutes of the night.