Ian Browne / MLB.com
ST. PETERSBURG -- When the Red Sox and Rays play for the final time in 18 games in this 2008 regular season on Wednesday, Boston will have just the pitcher it wants on the mound.
Tim Wakefield hasn't merely pitched well under the roof of Tropicana Field, he has virtually owned the place, going 9-2 with a 2.45 ERA there in his career.
Behind Wakefield, the Red Sox will try to take the rubber match of this critical three-game showdown against the Tampa Bay Rays. If they are successful in doing so, the Red Sox would leave town tied for first place in the American League East, and they would also tie the Rays, 9-9, in the season series.
That could be significant if the teams finish the season tied for the lead in the AL East. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition. And if the clubs are tied there, it goes to record in the division, which is currently tight.
Boston is 35-30 in the AL East, while Tampa Bay is 38-29.
Still, the Red Sox are in very good shape as far as making it to the postseason. Their lead over the Twins in the AL Wild Card standings is seven games.
Boston's magic number for clinching a spot in the postseason is five.
Just don't tell Red Sox ace Josh Beckett about all those scenarios.
"I'm not worried about October," said Beckett. "That's for [the media] and people up in Boston to worry about. We're worried about winning [Wednesday]. They've got that [stuff] always on TV, mentioning Soxtober. I don't know what the [heck] that is. We're in September right now. We've got to go out and play good baseball. We played a good baseball game today; we just got beat by one pitch."
Now it is in the hands of Wakefield, who was brilliant in his last start, pitching eight scoreless innings against the Blue Jays.
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