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BOSTON -- Two American League East rivals with very different immediate goals clash when the Boston Red Sox play host to the Tampa Bay Rays for three games at Fenway Park this weekend.For the Red Sox, the goal is to win another series, which would be their third straight, and hit the All-Star break very much in contention to contend for another last-to-first scenario.For the last-place Rays, the aim is to just try to win games. Perhaps even two straight at some point. That hasnt happened since a three-game winning streak June 12-15.The Red Sox (46-38) closed a 10-16 June by losing two of three to the floundering Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla. They then came home for a nine-game homestand and won two of three against the Los Angeles Angels -- including a 21-2 loss -- before doing the same against the Texas Rangers, who have the best record in the AL.Boston is three games behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.Weve played much better baseball except for the one game this month, Red Sox manager John Farrell said after his team won the rubber match of a three-game series with Texas on Wednesday night. Its nice to get back to back series wins.The last-place Rays, meanwhile, have won only one other game in their last 22 besides the two they captured against the Red Sox, the 3-19 run representing the worst stretch in franchise history. They ended their homestand with a 5-1 loss to the Angels on Thursday, dropping three of four (the last three) in that series while falling deeper into the abyss.Tampa Bay (34-51) leads the season series 4-2.Two pitchers hoping to build on significant outings last Sunday square off in Friday nights series opener.Tampa Bays Chris Archer (4-11, 4.50 ERA) hasnt won since June 6, but he worked 5 2/3 scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. He loaded the bases with no outs in the first inning and then struck out three straight en route to a 10-strikeout effort.Cant help but feel really good about what Chris Archer did today, Rays manager Kevin Cash said Sunday. For the way it started, and the way he kicked it in gear and kind of showed us the Archer that we know hes very capable of being. That was an outstanding effort, outstanding performance.On the same day, a day after Boston was pummeled by the Angels, Sean OSullivan came up from Triple-A Pawtucket and gave the Red Sox what they needed -- five-plus innings of two-run ball, both runs scoring after the left with two runners on.It earned the veteran journeyman at least this last start before the break, with Clay Buchholz demoted to the bullpen for the second time this season.That was, Id say, one of the highlights of my career for sure, OSullivan said Sunday of receiving an ovation while leaving the Fenway Park mound.He is 13-23 on his big-league journey -- 0-2 in two career starts against Tampa Bay, but the second of those was in 2010.The Red Sox have won all three of his starts, and all have come at Fenway.Archer has had a terrible time of it against Boston, going 1-8 with a 5.67 ERA in 13 starts lifetime, 0-2 this season.David Ortiz, whose bat flip after a 2014 homer evoked verbal criticism from the young right-hander, is 12-for-31 (.387) with two homers and 15 RBI against him, while Xander Bogaerts is 6-for-16 and Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw both 3-for-7. Mookie Betts has two homers in his four hits against Archer.The Red Sox will have a new face for the game after acquiring Aaron Hill from the Milwaukee Brewers for two minor-leaguers on Thursday. Hill figures to serve as a reserve across the infield. Arnaz Battle Jersey . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. Mike Wilson Jersey .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. http://www.custom49ersjersey.com/custom-steve-spurrier-jersey-large-1768d.html . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Tom Rathman Jersey . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Rickey Jackson Jersey .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. CLEVELAND -- There are 333 synonyms for the word stoic in the online power thesaurus, and Cleveland Indians starter Corey Kluber has displayed every one during the 2016 Major League Baseball postseason. He has been stoic working on short rest, impassive on his way to the dugout after each inning, and serenely oblivious to all the pitching icons he has passed on the way to going 4-1 with a 0.89 ERA in October.Now it has come to this: The Indians, bedeviled by bad karma and an oppressive postseason history, will hand the ball to their ace one final time with a plea to rescue the 2016 season and the World Series. All things considered, its a good thing Kluber projects the air of a man without a pulse.In the clubhouse after a deflating 9-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs in Game 6, the Cleveland players expressed misgivings over their failure to put up much resistance against the Cubs. Each postmortem ultimately took a positive turn because of the rainbow on the horizon.Were still in good shape, said reliever Andrew Miller. Weve got Corey Kluber going tomorrow, and hes as good as they come. Youve got to like our chances. We have a chance to win at home, with our best guy on the mound. Its every kids dream. How many times have we all pretended were in Game 7 of the World Series? Well, here we are.When the Indians failed to close out the Cubs in Game 5 on Sunday night at Wrigley Field, they could take solace in having won two of three games in Chicago to seize a 3-2 lead in the Series. But the combination of Josh Tomlins early woes and the Tyler Naquin-Lonnie Chisenhall outfield hijinks sucked all the energy out of Progressive Field and made Indians fans wonder if they werent about to be subjected to a uniquely Cleveland brand of sports torture.Never mind Earnest Byners fumble, The Drive or all the torment the Browns have endured over the past few decades. Indians fans with long memories have plenty of worst-case scenarios embedded in their brains. The Tribe endured a 41-year stretch of postseason-free baseball from 1954 through 1995. Cleveland fell to Atlanta in the 95 World Series after going 100-44 in a strike-shortened season and lost the 1997 World Series to the Florida Marlins when closer Jose Mesa failed to seal the deal.More recent examples of Clevelands postseason baseball failings are particularly stark. Since 1999, the Indians are 3-13 in potential series-clinching games in October, and theyve been outscored 119-49.The track record would be suffocating if the Cleveland players allowed any trace of negativity to pervade their thoughts. So they use some things for motivation and weed out the rest.We want to win for these fans just as much as we want to do it for ourselves, closer Cody Allen said. I think we owe it to this city and to each one of these guys in here to leave it out there tomorrow. Thats all we can do.Does the Indians team history pose an extra burden as they try to craft a positive ending? Not really.I mean, look at their history, Allen said of the Cubs.While its a challenge to find positive omens in a 9-3 loss, the Indians showed a few signs of life on the way to being steamrolled in Game 6. When Jason Kipnis hit a solo homer off Jake Arrieta in the fifth inning to cut Chicagos lead to 7-2, his teammates picked him up and carried him through the dugout in a wedding chair celebration, as theyve done all season. They certainly didnt look defeated or uptight.Even down in the bullpen, if they showed us onn camera during the game, we looked pretty loose, Miller said.dddddddddddd Theres a never-give-up mentality. That looseness is something we strive for. What those guys were doing in the dugout wasnt fake. Its what works for us. Theres just this assumption that well find a way to come back, or show up tomorrow, or whatever it is.Were here for a reason. Were a really good team, and weve won a lot of games, and we just have to find a way to win one more.The Indians also forced Chicago closer Aroldis Chapman to throw 20 pitches before he gave way to Pedro Strop in the ninth inning. In contrast, Clevelands big three relief contingent of Miller, Allen and Bryan Shaw all had the night off.Thats us kind of fighting back and putting on a little pressure and saying, Hey, they had a big lead, but lets get something out of this game, Kipnis said. Maybe its setting yourself up with some big swings so you can take some positivity into tomorrow. Even if it just means we have some guys who have now seen [Chapman] a little bit more and can have a different approach against him the next day, thats a silver lining.Ultimately, all conjecture and conversation circled back to Kluber, who has embraced every challenge the Indians have thrown his way this month. It all began during the division series, when he returned from a quadriceps strain to beat Bostons David Price on 10 days rest.Kluber threw on short rest for the first time against Toronto in the league championship series and will become only the seventh pitcher in the past 30 years to make three starts in a World Series. The list includes Bostons Bruce Hurst (1986), the New York Mets Ron Darling (also 1986), Minnesotas Frank Viola (1987) and Jack Morris (1991), Arizonas Curt Schilling (2001) and St. Louis Chris Carpenter (2011).With each new honor or historical precedent thrown his way, Kluber keeps the focus on pitching and nothing more. During an interview session Tuesday, he was asked about joining Cincinnatis Jose Rijo as the first pitcher since 1990 to win Games 1 and 4 of a World Series.I know he pitched for the Reds in the World Series, Kluber said. But as far as appreciating the historical significance, probably not.Could Kluber appreciate the cosmic significance of having won the All-Star Game in San Diego in July, then standing on the Progressive Field mound in Game 7 almost four months later because of a home-field advantage that he helped create?No, I never connected those dots at that point in time, he said.When Kluber reports to work Wednesday for the biggest game of his life, he will prepare with the same tunnel vision that he brings to a postseason game or a garden-variety start in spring training. He maintains the same high standards all season long, and his teammates take heart in that, because they know hell bring his best.Who else would you want? Kipnis said. Thats our guy. Thats our stud. Thats our bona fide ace. You ask everybody in here who we want on that mound, and youre going to get Corey Kluber as the answer.Earlier in this series, Kipnis expressed puzzlement that Kluber isnt already a household name. If Kluber beats the Cubs in Game 7 to end Clevelands 68-year World Series drought and extend Chicagos dry spell to 109, it will be hard for America not to take notice. It might even be enough for Corey Kluber to crack a smile. ' ' '