Crisp batting first for BoSox

Red Sox manager Terry Francona tweaked his lineup again for tonight’s Game 5 of the American League Championship Series, moving Coco Crisp to the leadoff spot and dropping J.D. Drew to sixth, where he will hit behind Jason Bay.

Jacoby Ellsbury is not in the lineup again, despite a career average of .286 against Rays starter Scott Kazmir.

Ellsbury, hitless in 14 ALCS at-bats, was benched for Game 4. Drew was moved to the leadoff spot, where he was 0-for-4.

Crisp is batting .300 against Kazmir. He was 1-for-2 with a double against Kazmir in Game 2.

Something to keep in mind tonight: starting the left-handed Kazmir will mean Jason Varitek and Jed Lowrie, a pair of switch-hitters, will bat right-handed. Varitek is hitting .284 right-handed as opposed to .201 left-handed. Lowrie is batting .338 right-handed and only .222 left-handed.

Zim says no rain

Don Zimmer, sitting in the visiting dugout at Fenway Park, looked at the sky and said there will be baseball tonight.

You could actually see some blue behind the clouds.

Zim would know. He’s only been in this stadium for about a billion games.

The tarp is off, and the Red Sox are taking batting practice.

A wet afternoon in Beantown

There are few sights in all of sports sadder than tarp covering an infield, especially when it is before Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. But that’s how it is here at Fenway Park in Boston as the clock approaches 4:30.

A steady drizzle falls on this jewel of a ballpark.

All reports indicate rain won’t be a factor tonight, and the game is still scheduled to begin at 8:07 p.m.

We’ll keep you updated.

Kaz pitching tonight for Rays

The Rays will try to close out the American League Championship Series tonight with their least effective pitcher.

Manager Joe Maddon tweaked his rotation, skipping James Shields for Game 5 in favor of Scott Kazmir.

Kazmir, who has struggled in two postseason starts, has the better career numbers against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

“We felt it was the right thing to do right now,” Maddon said. “We like that. We like the fact that he’s pitching with an open day following, the ability to utilize the entire bullpen. We also like the idea of him pitching here, and we like the idea of Shields being able to pitch at home, if necessary.”

Shields will start Game 6 on Saturday night at Tropicana Field should the Red Sox win Thursday.

If the series were tied 2-2, then Shields would have started tonight. But with the Rays leading 3-1, Maddon decided to have Kazmir start on his normal fifth day.

-- Roger Mooney

GAME 6 TICKETS

The tarps will come off the seats near the top of Tropicana Field when the Rays return for a possible Game 6 of the American League Championship Series and/or for the World Series should they advance that far.

Tickets for Game 6 of the ALCS go on sale today to those who won the chance to purchase in the Postseason Ticket Opportunity through raysbaseball.com. Winners will be notified by email this morning, and the special internet pre-sale will begin at 5:00 p.m. Any remaining tickets will go on-sale at raysbaseball.com, at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Now, for this stat, DUCK!

The Rays and Red Sox combined to hit 11 home runs through the first three games of this ALCS. It is the 16th time in 39 ALCS that the two teams combined to hit 10 or more home runs. The Red Sox have been involved in six of those series, including the 2003 ALCS against the Yankees when the two teams combined to hit 20 home runs in the seven-game series, which, fittingly, ended with a home run.

This is the third straight ALCS to produce at least 10 home runs and the 12th in the past 14 Octobers.

— Herald Staff

Game Tonight

It is October 10.

The Bucs have changed quarterbacks again.

High school football season, for some teams, reaches the halfway point tonight.

Florida plays LSU this weekend in a game that could have national title implications.

They’ve already dropped the puck on the hockey season.

And the Rays have a home game.

Against the Red Sox.

In the American League Championship Series.

First to four wins heads to the World Series.

The Rays.

Amazing.

Rays vs. Red Sox: A history of run-ins

Aug. 29, 2000. Perdro Martinez, perhaps tired of losing twice to the Tampa Bay Rays in two of his last three starts against them, drills Gerald Williams, and Williams responds by charging the mound. The Rays retaliate as Dave Eiland and a parade of relievers continue to throw at Brian Daubach. The benches clear again later in the game. A total of eight players are ejected, though Martinez is not one of them. He retires the next 24 batters and takes a no-hitter into the ninth inning where it is broken up John Flaherty.

Sept. 29, 2000. The Rays eliminate the Red Sox from playoff contention one month later, and Roberto Hernandez waves "bye-bye" after recording the final out. One night later, Morgan Burkhardt hits a two-run homer of Hernandez to erase a 2-1 deficit and start a three-run rally in the ninth for a 4-2 victory. The Red Sox are seen waving to Hernandez, though most use only one finger.

May 5, 2002. Ryan Rupe begins the game by hitting Nomar Garciaparra and Shea Hillenbrand in the first inning. Trot Nixon swings and misses at a pitch, and the bat flies out of his hand toward Rupe. Randy Winn gets plunked later in the game.

July 18, 2002. Esteban Yan and manager Hal McRae are ejected as Manny Ramirez and Brent Abernathy are both hit twice.

Sept. 9, 2002. Warned by the commissioner's office to knock it off, Derek Lowe nevertheless hits Felix Escalona twice.

Sept. 10, 2002. The Rays respond, drilling Doug Mirabelli, Garciaparra and Lou Merloni. Lowe and Rays pitcher Lee Gardner earn suspensions.

Sept. 27, 2004. Scott Kazmir empties the dugouts when he hits Manny Ramirez and Kevin Millar during consecutive at-bats. Kazmir was retaliating because Bronson Arroyo had already plunked Aubrey Huff and Tino Martinez. Kazmir and Lou Piniella are ejected.

April 24, 2005. Bradenton's Lance Carter gets into the act when he throws behind Ramirez, who responds with a home run, and David Ortiz, who responds by making a move toward Carter. The ejections total six, and eight players are either fined or suspended. Two days later Curt Schilling calls out Piniella on his radio show. Schilling calls out Rays announcer Joe Magrane after Magrane criticizes Schilling during the Rays next telecast.

March 27, 2006. The volatile Julian Tavarez kicks Joey Gathright as Gathright scores on a wild pitch during a spring training game in Fort Myers. Tavarez slaps, then punches Gathright as the benches empty. Ty Wigginton breaks a bone in his right hand, and Taverez gets slapped with a 10-game suspension.

June 5, 2008. Boston fans finally get to witness a dustup of their own after Shields drills Crisp and bedlam ensues. Shields was responding to a hard slide into second baseman Akinori Iwamura by Crisp the night before. Three players are ejected, and eight are suspended, including Crisp and Iwamura.