That was the case on Friday night during Boston's 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay, when starter Matt Clement bulldogged his way through six innings, though it was clear that something was bothering him.

"He was really scuffling with his asthma," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "He had, not really an attack, but he was feeling it.

"We didn't win, but he gave it everything he had."

Francona admitted before the game that he was worried about his pitching staff during the last series, which has been taxed heavily as of late because of inconsistent starting performances.

On Thursday, it was right-hander Keith Foulke who returned for the ninth inning to give the bullpen a little rest rather than have someone relieve him. The sense of duty fell to Clement on Friday. Earlier in the day, the Red Sox had sent Lenny DiNardo to the bullpen "just in case."

If Clement made an early exit and DiNardo's services were needed, his turn would on Saturday would have been skipped, forcing Boston to call up an emergency starter to fill the spot.

It wasn't all that pretty, but Clement got the job done. The right-hander allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and six walks, and struck out four. Francona said Clement had been bothered by asthma early on and "didn't look like he had his feet under him real well," but he logged the innings at a time when it mattered most.

"Thankfully, he stayed out there long enough," Francona said. "He was having a tough time, but he gathered himself and stayed out there long enough where we didn't have to use anybody we didn't want to."

It wore on the 31-year-old. After giving up two runs in each of the first two innings and regaining control to sit the Rays down in order in the fourth, Clement slowly plodded toward the dugout, hat off and head down. He was the last Red Sox to leave the field that inning. But he rallied to allow just one hit -- a single to Toby Hall in the fifth -- over his final two innings.

His teammates, however, were unable to help his cause.

In the fifth, a throwing error from Boston shortstop Alex Gonzalez allowed Ty Wigginton to reach first on what should've been a groundout. He'd go on to score the Rays' fifth run later in the inning on Travis Lee's groundout to second.

"[Clement] kept us in the game, and we weren't able to get it done defensively," catcher Jason Varitek said.

As Clement struggled to get settled, the Red Sox offense mirrored the battle.

Wily Mo Pena, experimenting as an "everyday guy" in center while Coco Crisp rehabs a broken finger, struggled to show the bat that earned him his new role. He stranded Varitek at third to end the second inning, forcing the final out with the bases loaded in the fourth and grounding out to shortstop with two on and two out in the sixth inning. Varitek had his turn as well and popped out with the bases full to end the seventh.

"We're not helping our pitchers," leadoff hitter Kevin Youkilis said. "The biggest thing is our guys are going up there and getting away from their plan and trying to force in runs by having good at-bats and sticking with their plan.

"It happens, it's just baseball. It's a crazy game, that's how it works."

The Red Sox managed just three hits off starter Casey Fossum. All told, the Red Sox left the bases loaded twice, and stranded 14 runners. Youkilis and Manny Ramirez reached base four times each, registering just one hit between them. Youkilis singled and walked three times, while Ramirez walked thrice and was hit by a Fossum pitch just after David Ortiz was plunked on the elbow.

Boston's stagnant offense finally came through in the eighth inning on a pair of run-scoring hits from Trot Nixon and pinch-hitter J.T. Snow. Nixon doubled off the wall in center to score Mike Lowell with none out in the eighth, and Snow, who was pinch-hitting for Alex Gonzalez, drove him in one play later with a single up the middle.

But it was too little, too late.

"We certainly [had plenty of opportunities], and we couldn't cash in," Francona said, "I don't think the scoreboard shows that we had a lot of opportunities to score runs. We waited too long. We finally got on the board, but we ran out of time."

The loss sunk Boston to 2-5 on its current three-city road swing and 2-2 this season against Tampa Bay.