Sun May 4 18:48:14 2008

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Youkilis leads Boston to series sweep of Rays

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Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Kevin Youkilis went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI as Boston tripped up Tampa, 7-3, in the finale of a three-game weekend set from Fenway Park.

Jason Varitek and Coco Crisp added two hits each for the Red Sox, who swept the series and have won five of six. Dustin Pedroia and Manny Ramirez also drove in runs.

"It's going to be a long year and we're fortunate," said Sox manager Terry Francona of the contributions from his lineup. "We can slide Youkilis wherever we want, and he ends up having a very productive day, and we can DH Manny. We put an outfield out there that runs all over the place so we're very fortunate."

Sox starter Jon Lester (2-2) earned the win, allowing one run and four hits over six full innings. Jonathan Papelbon recorded the final four outs of the game to notch his ninth save.

Akinori Iwamura had two hits, an RBI and scored a run for the Rays, who have dropped three straight after a stretch of eight wins in nine games. Carlos Pena homered and Carl Crawford drove in a run in defeat.

Scott Kazmir (0-1), who made his first start of the season, was tagged for six hits and four runs over four frames. The left-hander struck out five, walked three and needed 90 pitches to get through the outing.

"Obviously, he wasn't as sharp as he can be," said Rays manager Joe Maddon of Kazmir. "His velocity was down just a little. Overall, he just couldnt find a good rhythm. His strike-throwing wasn't as consistent as you'd like to see, and obviously, they got all those pitches after four innings."

After seeing the Rays get back within a run after a two-spot in the seventh, Youkilis slammed his third home run of the season to the deepest part of the park in the home half to make it 5-3. He tacked on a two-run double in the eighth to provide much-needed breathing room.

Papelbon was called on with two down in the eighth and finished the game by inducing four consecutive ground outs.

A Youkilis sacrifice fly put the Sox on the board in the first, and Boston added two more in the third.

Pedroia led off with a single and went to third on a Youkilis double. He scored when Kazmir unleashed a wild pitch with Ramirez up, then the enigmatic left fielder laced a double to plate Youkilis.

Pedroia's fourth-inning groundout pushed the Boston lead to four, then Pena's one-out solo homer in the sixth put Tampa on the board.

The Rays crept within a run in the seventh against the struggling Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima, as Iwamura drove in a run with a triple and Crawford added an RBI single.

Game Notes

Red Sox DH David Ortiz was scratched from the game with stiffness in his right knee...Delcarmen was charged with two runs on two hits while recording only one out, raising his ERA to 7.30...Jacoby Ellsbury scored two runs for Boston...Tampa's Jason Bartlett had two hits and a run scored.