Tampa Bay Rays ace David Price proved no match for the Boston Red Sox. David Ortiz homered in the first inning and the Sox jumped to a 6-3 lead midway through Saturday's game in Boston.
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The Rays needed a solid start from Price after absorbing a 12-2 shellacking in Friday's opener of the teams' American League Division Series.
They didn't get it. Even when the Rays struck for two runs in the fifth, cutting the lead to 5-3, he yielded an RBI double to Dustin Pedroia.
Boston tied to sweep its home games in the best-of-5 series, which would put the Rays in a deep hole against Major League Baseball's best regular-season team.
Later Saturday, the Detroit Tigers face the Oakland Athletics in the second of their ALDS. Detroit opened with a road victory and also seeks a 2-0 series edge.
The National League was off Saturday, with both series scheduled to resume on Sunday. The St. Louis Cardinals are on the road against the Pittsburgh Pirates; first pitch is 4:07 p.m. ET. The Atlanta Braves play the late game against the host Los Angeles Dodgers.
Both NL series are 1-1.
In Boston, the Rays were proving to be their own worst enemy. A throwing error contributed to the Sox's first run as Jacoby Ellsbury went to third on a errant toss by catcher Jose Molina. He then scored on a sacrifice fly by Pedroia. Ortiz followed with a solo homer.
The Rays made it 2-1 on a sacrifice fly by Delmon Young in the second.
In the third, David Ross nicked the Green Monster for a double and scored on an Ellsbury double. Pedroia contributed a run on a fielder's choice made possible by a takeout slide by Shane Victorino to prevent a double play.
Up 4-1, the Sox scored again in the fourth after Stephen Drew tripled off the Green Monster and scored when the Rays botched a double-play ball.
James Loney drove in two runs in the fifth to bring the Rays back to 5-3 before Pedroia doubled to score Ellsbury.