Will Rays be on the run?

One major sacrifice of sending Tim Wakefield to the mound: the running game. Opponents like to take full advantage of the chance to steal against the knuckleballer, and the Tampa Bay Rays were especially aggressive against Wakefield during the regular season.

In fact, Tampa attempted five steals against Wakefield in two games this season, succeeding on four. Tampa's speed entering Game 4 tonight makes it especially important for Wakefield to avoid walks, which might not be as easy as it sounds. The Rays were one of the more patient teams in baseball this year and were among the major league leaders in walks.

One thing in the Sox' favor? Compared with last year, when opponents swiped a major league-leading 41 bases (in 50 attempts) against Wakefield, opponents have had less success in 2008. With Wakefield now paired with Kevin Cash, opponents went 27 for 37 in stolen base attempts against the knuckleballer, a notable improvement over a year ago.

Still, Tampa has the combination of patience, speed and power to truly make this a tough night for Wakefield, which probably explains why Wakefield went winless in two starts against the Rays this year. Obviously, it will be incumbent upon Wakefield to throw strikes and keep runners off the bases, which is true whenever he pitches, but especially true tonight.

One final thing: Given that Paul Byrd pitched yesterday and that there is an off day tomorrow, don't be surprised if manager Terry Francona has a quick hook and goes to his better relievers early in this game. The Red Sox cannot afford a 3-1 series deficit and Francona seems to have Jonathan Papelbon and Justin Masterson available for two innings each, as well Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen and Javier Lopez.

For all intents and purposes, the Sox probably will treat this as an elimination game.