Next Up: the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays pitcher for tonight is Matt Garza. The last time we saw Garza was in April when he went up against Tim Wakefield. He allowed three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out only one. He throws a mid-nineties fastball, a hard slider, a curveball, and a changeup. He plays really well at Tropicana Field but not so well in a different park. Although he's started fewer games away than he has at home, he's allowed more hits, more runs, more home runs, and struck out far fewer (he does give away more walks at the Trop.) Opponents are batting .220 against him at home and .281 on the road. He also does not fair well with runners on.

Wednesday the Rays plan to field Edwin Jackson. Jackson is an aggressive pitcher who throws a high nineties fastball, a slider, and a changeup. Control continues to be a problem for him but if he's on, he can be very good. The first time the Sox saw him this year he was on. He went seven innings and gave up one run on five hits. He also walked three and struck out four. The second time they saw him, he was not on. He ended up going only four innings, giving up six runs on nine hits (including a home run.) He walked three and struck out four in that game, as well. He has a much more difficult time getting lefties out.

The last Rays pitcher of the series is James Shields. His best pitch is his change-up but he also has a low-ninties fastball and a solid curveball. The first time the Sox saw Shields this year he went nine innings and gave up only two hits. He did walk one but he struck out seven. When they saw him a few days later it was a different story. He went only 3 and two-thirds of an inning. He gave up seven runs on ten hits. He walked three batters and struck out three batters. Righties have a much easier time hitting him than lefties. He also has trouble when there are runners on.

Dioner Navarro, Eric Hinske, and BJ Upton continue to be their best hitters. As a team, they don't make many errors at all-Bartlett has a team-leading five at shortstop. BJ Upton is the most likely player to steal a base with seventeen on the season-he's also been caught six times. He also has the most walks, the most RBIs, and the highest number of doubles on the team.