Boston at Tampa Bay

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) - The Boston Red Sox will send their ace to the mound Sunday hoping to avoid a sweep when they visit the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Red Sox have done some shuffling in their rotation recently due to a flu bug that has been sweeping the clubhouse and Josh Beckett has been one of the hardest hit.

The righthander was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after waking up with a stiff neck just as he was beginning to recover from the bug.

Finally healthy, Beckett will be attempting to stop the Red Sox's season-high four-game losing streak.

Boston was in line for the win Saturday as rookie Clay Buchholz had allowed one hit through 7 1/3 innings. The righthander yielded a single to Dioner Navarro and a two-out, two-run homer to Akinori Iwamura, allowing the Rays to rally for a 2-1 win. It was the second consecutive come-from-behind win for Tampa Bay, which now owns the best record in franchise history after 24 games.

Beckett (2-1, 5.12 ERA) has won each of his past two starts, allowing three runs and six hits in eight innings April 17 at New York.

The Rays will counter with righthander James Shields (2-1, 3.30). The 26-year-old is coming off a win Tuesday against Toronto in which he allowed four runs - two earned - and six hits in seven innings.

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