A look at the best-of-seven American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays. (Season series: Rays won 10-8)

PROJECTED LINEUPS

Red Sox: CF Jacoby Ellsbury (.280, 9 HRs, 47 RBIs, 50 SB, 18-game hitting streak ending season), 2B Dustin Pedroia (.326, 17, 83, 213 H, 118 R, 54 2B, 20 SB), DH David Ortiz (.264, 23, 89), 3B Kevin Youkilis (.312, 29, 115), RF J.D. Drew (.280, 19, 64), LF Jason Bay (.293, 9, 37 in 49 games with Red Sox after July 31 trade from Pittsburgh; .286, 31, 101 overall), 1B Mark Kotsay (.226, 0, 12 in 84 at-bats with Red Sox after Aug. 27 trade from Atlanta; .276, 6, 49 overall), SS Jed Lowrie (.258, 2, 46), C Jason Varitek (.220, 13, 43).

Rays: 2B Akinori Iwamura (.274, 6, 48), CF B.J. Upton (.273, 9, 67), 1B Carlos Pena (.247, 31, 102), 3B Evan Longoria (.272, 27, 85), LF Carl Crawford (.273, 8, 57), DH Cliff Floyd (.268, 11, 39), C Dioner Navarro (.295, 7, 54), RF Gabe Gross (.242, 13, 38), SS Jason Bartlett (.286, 1, 37).

PROJECTED ROTATIONS

Red Sox: RH Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-3, 2.90 ERA), RH Josh Beckett (12-10, 4.03), LH Jon Lester (16-6, 3.21), RH Paul Byrd (11-12, 4.60) or RH Tim Wakefield (10-11, 4.13).

Rays: RH James Shields (14-8, 3.56), LH Scott Kazmir (12-8, 3.49), RH Matt Garza (11-9, 3.70), RH Andy Sonnanstine (13-9, 4.38).

RELIEVERS

Red Sox: RH Jonathan Papelbon (5-4, 2.34, 40/45 saves), LH Hideki Okajima (3-2, 2.61), RH Justin Masterson (6-5, 3.16), RH Manny Delcarmen (1-2, 3.27), LH Javier Lopez (2-0, 2.43), RH Paul Byrd (11-12, 4.60) or RH Tim Wakefield (10-11, 4.13, 0 relief appearances this season).

Rays: RH Grant Balfour (6-2, 1.54, 82 strikeouts in 58 1-3 innings), LH J.P. Howell (6-1, 2.22), RH Dan Wheeler (5-6, 3.12, 13/18 saves), LH Trever Miller (2-0, 4.15), RH Chad Bradford (4-3, 2.12), LH David Price (0-0, 1.93).

MATCHUPS

In the heat of a tight pennant race, Tampa Bay took four of six from Boston during September and won the AL East by two games over the Red Sox. The gritty Rays took two of three at Fenway Park from Sept. 8-10, rallying in the ninth to beat Papelbon in the middle game and then winning the series finale in 14 innings the next night on Pena's three-run homer. ... These teams definitely don't like each other. They had a nasty brawl June 5 at Fenway Park after Shields hit Coco Crisp on the hip with a pitch, the latest in a half-dozen dustups between the clubs this decade. ... Tampa Bay was second in the AL with a 3.82 ERA, while Boston ranked fourth at 4.01. The Red Sox scored 845 runs to Tampa Bay's 774. The Rays hit 180 homers to Boston's 173. ... The Red Sox will be without 3B Mike Lowell in this series. The 2007 World Series MVP has an injured hip. That means Youkilis, a Gold Glove first baseman, likely moves to third and Kotsay, normally an outfielder, probably sees time at first. ... Drew was 12-for-37 (.324) with 7 extra-base hits and 8 RBIs against Tampa Bay this season. Ortiz went 9-for-37 (.243) with 3 homers, 4 doubles and 11 RBIs. Bay was 4-for-17 (.235) with 3 homers. Youkilis had a team-high 14 RBIs, though he batted only .232. ... Lester was 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA in 3 starts against the Rays. He struck out 19 in 20 innings. Beckett went 2-1 with a 2.06 ERA in 5 starts. He fanned 37 in 35 innings. Matsuzaka had a 3.00 ERA in 3 starts. Okajima (6 2/3 innings) and Lopez (8 2/3 innings) did not allow an earned run in 15 combined appearances. Wakefield was 0-2 with a 5.87 ERA in 3 starts. ... Iwamura batted .319 with 4 homers and 10 runs against Boston this season. Pena hit .314 with 4 homers and 12 RBIs. Willy Aybar was 12-for-29 (.414) with 5 RBIs. Gross had 3 homers and a .204 average in 49 at-bats. Navarro hit .190 with one extra-base hit and 15 strikeouts in 63 at-bats. Upton was 5-for-39 (.128) with 12 Ks and Floyd went 3-for-24 (.125). ... Sonnanstine did not allow an earned run in 13 innings against the Red Sox. He struck out 12. Balfour had a 1.74 ERA in 10 1/3 innings. Kazmir was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in 4 starts. He walked 14 batters and served up 6 homers in 18 innings. ... Upbeat Rays manager Joe Maddon likes to use his bench. In the division series, he gave starts to Aybar, Rocco Baldelli and Fernando Perez. ... Crawford is back from a finger injury and his speed puts pressure on opposing defenses. He had 25 of Tampa Bay's major league-best 142 stolen bases this season, then added three more in the division series against Chicago. ... Yet to be determined is whether closer Troy Percival (28/32 saves) will be on Tampa Bay's roster for this series. He missed the first round because of a balky back.

BIG PICTURE

Red Sox: In the ALCS for the fourth time since 2003, Boston is looking for its second consecutive World Series title and third in five years. Quite a run of success after 86 years without a championship. ... The wild-card Red Sox (95-67) dispatched the 100-win Los Angeles Angels, 3-1, in the best-of-five division series after losing the final eight of their nine regular-season meetings. That's a good omen for Boston, which won World Series crowns in 2004 and 2007 after sweeping the Angels in the first round of the playoffs. ... Playing in his first postseason, Bay was 7-for-17 (.412) against the Angels with 2 homers, 2 doubles and 5 RBIs. He scored the series-winning run on a ninth-inning single by Lowrie, a rookie who went 4-for-11 (.364). Lester pitched 14 innings without allowing an earned run and struck out 11. A cancer survivor, he also won the 2007 World Series clincher against Colorado. ... Papelbon fanned 7 in 5 scoreless innings, earning a win and a save. ... A proven star in the postseason, Beckett was pushed back to Game 3 against Los Angeles after hurting a muscle in his side. He lasted only 5 innings, allowing 4 runs, 9 hits and 4 walks. Beckett is 6-2 with a 2.09 ERA and 3 complete games in 11 postseason starts. ... Papelbon has been solid as the closer. ... Wakefield, a knuckleballer, could be in the bullpen again. He is 1-1 with an 8.25 ERA as a reliever during his postseason career.

Rays: A doormat since the team's inception in 1998, Tampa Bay had never won more than 70 games in a season before this year. But the young, athletic Rays (97-65) were baseball's biggest surprise in 2008, staying in contention for the best record in the majors until the final weekend. Then, they eliminated the AL Central champion Chicago White Sox, 3-1, in the division series. ... Upton hit 3 homers and a triple in the first round. Navarro was 6-for-15 (.400) with 3 doubles and 3 RBIs. Pena went 5-for-10 with 2 RBIs, and Iwamura was 7-for-18 (.389) with 3 extra-base hits and 4 RBIs. The front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year, Longoria homered in his first two postseason at-bats. ... The Rays joined the 1991 Braves as the only teams to make the playoffs a year after finishing with the worst record in the majors. They are the second AL team, 11th overall, to earn a postseason berth a year after finishing in last place. The 1991 Twins were the other AL team. ... While emerging stars such as Longoria, Crawford, Kazmir and Upton are playoff newcomers, the Rays have eight players with postseason experience prior to this year: Floyd, Bartlett, Balfour, Eric Hinske, Miller, Percival, Wheeler and Bradford. A ninth, Iwamura, has participated in the Japanese League playoffs.