Red Sox-Devil Rays (May 25, 26, 27, & 28)

Josh Beckett (7-1, 3.80) started off the weekend four-game series with the Devil Rays in dominating fashion Thursday night. The early AL Cy Young favorite pitched six shutout innings as the Red Sox went on to win 4-1. With the Yankees not playing last night, the Sox lead in the AL East is now 1-game. David Wells (0-1, 15.75) returns from the disabled list tonight to try to give the starting rotation a much needed boost. At 43, this may be Wells' last shot at producing in the bigs. The impressive Scott Kazmir (7-2, 2.39) -- another early Cy Young candidate -- goes for Tampa Bay. It is amazing that New York Mets dealt Kazmir to Tampa two years ago for Victor Zambrano -- imagine how good the Mets would be with the flame-throwing lefty. NESN and WEEI have the game at 7:05. On Saturday, Curt Schilling (7-2, 3.80) -- coming off of a great start against the Yankees on Monday -- faces Seth McClung (2-5, 5.72). McClung is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in two career appearances at Fenway so if you're a betting man, take the Sox and the over. Saturday's game is a 7:05 start on NESN and WEEI. In the Sunday finale, Tim Wakefield (3-6, 4.57) will be opposed by Mark Hendrickson (3-4, 3.50) at 2:05. In the past, Wake has always pitched well against the Devil Rays while Hendrickson has struggled with Boston. Tune into NESN or WEEI for the game. Having started out so well last night, the Red Sox need to ride their momentum and take at least 2-of-3 over the weekend. The Sox can't afford to lose games to Tampa Bay as they will come back to haunt them in September if they do.