After losing their last six series, the Tampa Bay Rays got just what they needed when the Boston Red Sox strolled into St. Petersburg.

The Rays took three out of four against their new found rival, the Boston Red Sox.

In the first game, Matt Garza carried a perfect game into the seventh when Jacoby Ellsbury broke it up with a little dribbler just out of the reach of Garza. In addition to the excellent pitching performance, the Rays offense exploded for 13 runs. The game also saw Javier Lopez shag some balls out in right field after Terry Francona had seen enough of his abysmal performance. Francona brought in rookie outfielder Jonathan Van Every who found a way to end the inning.

The second game was going the Red Sox way as they boasted a 2-0 lead. Justin Masterson was on cruise control until the sixth fifth inning where he unraveled. After loading the bases with only one out, Masterson surrendered a sacrifice fly to B.J. Upton and gave the Sox a glimpse of hope that they would be able to end this inning with the lead still intact.

Then Masterson walked Crawford to load the bases once again and what happened next left the Red Sox in disgust. Evan Longoria came to the plate and unloaded on the pitch, hitting it over the wall for a grand slam. The next batter was Carlos Pena who also decided to go deep helping in the 6-2 win by Tampa Bay.

On Saturday night, the Red Sox jumped on Jeff Niemann who allowed six runs in just three innings of work. Although the Rays were able to score five runs in five innings off of Tim Wakefield, the Sox bullpen puzzled the Rays offense for much of the rest of the game.

In the Sunday finale, the Rays got back on their winning ways led by a stolen base explosion by Carl Crawford. Crawford tied the modern day record for bases theft in a game with six. James Shields pitched into the seventh inning while only allowing two runs en route to a 5-3 victory. Troy Percival also etched his third save of the season.

After winning the series, the Rays still are at four games under .500 with a 11-15 record. The team looks to continue their hot streak as Baltimore comes into town tonight. After a two game stretch, the Rays head to New York to face the Yankees in another two game series. After playing in the new Yankee Stadium for the first time, the Rays head to historic Fenway Park where they will battle the Sox once again.

Although it is early, this upcoming week should be looked at as very important for this team as all of their upcoming foes are AL East opponents. Taking three from the Boston Red Sox may be just what this team needs to get back on their winning ways.