Though the Rays did not make the official announcement, Edwin Jackson has been added to the American League Championship Series roster. To make room outfielder Eric Hinske was dropped.
"It's not about me," Hinske said. "It's about the team. They just said they wanted to carry an extra pitcher."
Jackson was added to the bullpen and will work in long relief should the Rays need him. The right-hander, who tied James Shields for the team lead in wins with 14, was not on the American League Division Series roster.
Hinske was but didn't play in any of the four games against the Chicago White Sox.
Percival left off
Despite positive reports in two outings in the instructional league earlier this week, Rays closer Troy Percival was not added to the ALCS roster.
"I went through two months where I wasn't healthy at all, so I understand their point of view, but I know that I'm healthy if they need me," Percival said after throwing a simulated game Thursday afternoon. "They know mentally what I'm capable of. They just need to know I'm physically ready, and I am physically ready now, and they know that I'm physically ready now. But the way they've got their bullpen set up, they needed somebody to throw some more innings."
So who closes?
Rays manager Joe Maddon said he will still piece the back end of the bullpen together as the game dictates.
Dan Wheeler, who saved Game 1 of the ALDS, will still serve as the closer.
"It's still everybody, but Wheels has done pretty good work against the Red Sox."
Wheeler is 3-0 with one save and a 2.79 RA in 19 career games against Boston. He was 2-0 with that one save in eight appearances against the Red Sox this season.
But Maddon said would also use Chad Bradford, who worked the final two innings of Game 4, and even Grant Balfour or J.P. Howell to get the final outs of a game.
"It comes down to how you get to the latter part of the game," Maddon said.
Sweep week?
The Rays and Red Sox played six series during the regular season and each team recorded two sweeps each, both at home.
Road tested
Daisuke Matsuzaka, tonight's starting pitcher for the Red Sox, went 9-0 with a 2.37 ERA in 13 starts on the road. He has not last away from Fenway Park since the Baltimore Orioles beat him Sept. 8, 2007 at Camden Yards. Overall, he limited opposing batters to a league-low .211 clip, becoming the first Boston pitcher to lead the league in that category since Pedro Martinez in 2002.
So far, so good . . .
The Rays won 31 more games than they did last year for the sixth-greatest turnaround in baseball history. But none of the teams on that list won the World Series that same year, and only the 1946 Boston Red Sox won their pennant.
He's on
Boston reliever Mike Timlin was added to the roster for the ALCS after being left off for the division series. Timlin is no stranger to the postseason, having won four World Series rings - two with the Toronto Blue Jays and two with Boston - and his 44 postseason appearances are fourth all-time behind Mariano Rivera, Jeff Nelson and Mike Stanton. He has appeared in a club-record 26 playoff games with the Red Sox
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