Montalbano pitched for the Boston Red Sox in the minor leagues. On Saturday morning, he lost his near decade long battle with testicular cancer. Kevin Youkilis, his former minor league teammate, and Carlos Pena, his college teammate at Northeastern, both made him proud later in the day.

Pena hit a first inning homer for the Tampa Bay Rays against the Texas Rangers. He followed that up with a two-run homer in the fourth inning. With the game tied in the tenth inning, Pena had the game-winning RBI single. For the game, he was 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBIs.

Youkilis, in a contest that pitted the Red Sox against arch rival New York Yankees, hit a three-run homer in the second inning. In the sixth inning, he hit a two-run homer. He completed his big day with an RBI double in the eighth to finish 3-for-5 with two runs and six RBIs.

“When I pointed to the sky to him when I went to the dugout, that was for him,” said Youkilis about Montalbano. “That’s one of those things. There are some crazy things that have happened in my life where you always feel there’s somebody out there pushing balls out and doing great things for you.”

Said Pena of Montalbano: “I was crushed. He was my right hand in college. He’s been battling cancer for 10 years. He was always smiling. The only thing that comforts me is I know he’s in a better place, but we’re going to miss him greatly.

“I dedicated this game to his memory and his family.”

Youkilis talked about how he hoped his effort helped his former teammate’s family.

Said Youkilis: “It’s a good feeling to know that, for the Montalbano family going through some hard times right now, there’s a lot of guys that are there for them.”

Kevin Youkilis pointing to the sky in memory of Greg Montalbano (Image: Zuma Press)

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David Price - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

In his six innings, Price gave up six hits, one walk and one earned run while striking out seven and evening his record at 3-3. In three of his previous four starts, Price had given up at least five earned runs. For the season, the 23-year-old left-hander has a 4.70 ERA.

The big hit for the Rays came in the fifth inning with Carlos Pena knocked in two runs with a double to put Tampa Bay up 3-1. Adam Lind had an RBI in the seventh but the Jays weren’t able to score any more runs.

The Rays are now 47-39 on the season. While they have one of the best records in the American League, the bad news is that they are behind both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the AL East.

Also in the AL East, the Jays are now 43-44 and nine games back in the division.

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5) Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays
Although his batting average is lower than preferred (.256), Carlos Pena is off to an otherwise fantastic start for the Rays. He already has nine homers in his first 22 games, while also driving in 24 RBIs, scoring 14 runs and walking 11 times.

4) Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox
Kevin Youkilis was an MVP candidate last season. This season, he’s hitting even better. Through 21 games, the slugger is hitting .395 with five homers, 15 RBI, 20 runs and 14 walks. His on-base percentage is at an astronomical .505.

3) Jorge Cantu, Florida Marlins
Jorge Cantu has long been considered a solid prospect but he has really started off well this season. He’s hitting .365 with seven homers, 22 RBI and 15 runs. He’s on pace to shatter is already good numbers from 2008.

2) Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres
Some scouts wondered if Adrian Gonzalez could keep up his great hitting ways despite playing in a pitcher-friendly ballpark and for a bad team. So far this season, he’s proving all doubters wrong. Gonzalez is hitting .333 with nine homers, 20 RBI, 19 runs and an on-base percentage of .438.

1) Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
So far, Albert Pujols has been the most valuable hitter in all of fantasy baseball. The Cardinals first baseman tops our rankings by batting .337 with eight homers, 28 RBI, 22 runs and even four stolen bases. He has to be considered the early favorite for National League MVP.

Albert Pujols of the Cardinals (Image: Newscom)

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Pitcher – Mike Mussina, New York Yankees – 8th Gold Glove
Catcher – Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins – 1st Gold Glove
First Baseman – Carlos Pena, Tampa Bay Rays – 1st Gold Glove
Second Baseman – Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox – 1st Gold Glove
Shortstop – Michael Young, Texas Rangers – 1st Gold Glove
Third Baseman – Adrian Beltre, Seattle Mariners – 2nd Gold Glove
Outfielder – Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners – 8th Gold Glove
Outfielder – Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels – 8th Gold Glove
Outfielder – Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians – 2nd Gold Glove

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Due to the suspension, Game 5 will continue on Tuesday — which was originally a day off. The game will continue right where it was with the score tied at two apiece.

If the Rays win Game 5 on Tuesday, Game 6 will be in Tampa Bay on Wednesday. If the Rays can also win that game, Game 7 will be on Thursday in Tampa Bay. Each of the three games will be shown at 8PM and can be seen on television on Fox.

Here are BJ Upton and Carlos Pena in a video talking about the postponement of Game 5:

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In the video, it is difficult to see what the Red Sox fans did to get tasered. We’ll assume that it was a justified tasering and not just a Tampa Bay Rays officer showing which team he roots for.

On the field, the Rays tasered the Red Sox by a final score of 9-1 to go up two games to one in the best of seven series. The Rays were led by their four players who hit home runs: BJ Upton, Evan Longoria, Rocco Baldelli and Carlos Pena. Matt Garza was very solid on the mound, giving up only one earned run in six innings while striking out five batters.

Here is the Red Sox fans tasered video:

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To advance, the Red Sox got a big hit from rookie Jed Lowrie. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Lowrie delivered a series winning single against the Los Angeles Angels to end the game. Scoring the winning run was Jason Bay as the Red Sox won 3-2.

The Rays had a hero of their own on Monday night. BJ Upton hit two home runs — solo shots in the 1st and 3rd innings off of Chicago White Sox starter Gavin Floyd. Carlos Pena also chipped in with a 3-for-4 and two RBI effort.

The first game between the Red Sox and Rays will be on Friday at 8PM EST. Here is a Red Sox versus Rays video preview:

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