Rays outfielder Luke Scott ripped Red Sox fans. (AP)

Luke Scott was unable to play for the Orioles in the final game of the 2011 season. Even so, when Baltimore beat the Red Sox to complete the biggest September collapse in major league history, Scott — now a member of the Rays — was elated.

Scott told MLB.com that he took immense satisfaction in being on the team that ended the Red Sox’ season owing to his contempt for Sox fans.

“[Red Sox] fans come in and they take over the city. They’re ruthless. They’re vulgar. They cause trouble. They talk about your family. Swear at you. Who likes that? When people do that, it just gives you more incentive to beat them,” Scott told the website. “Then when things like [the last game of last season] happen, you celebrate even more. You go to St. Louis — classiest fans in the game. You do well, there’s no vulgarity. You know what? You don’t wish them bad.”

Scott described an Orioles clubhouse that celebrated the victory like it had won the World Series, and then took the celebration to another level when the Rays won on a walkoff homer over the Yankees to eliminate the Sox.

“We’re like, ‘Go home Boston! Pack your bags. See you next year,’” Scott told the website.

“I got to see a priceless thing driving back to my apartment,” Scott continued. “I see all the Boston fans walking around, and I mean they were crying crocodile tears. … It was like someone shot their dog. I rolled down the window and I’m like, ‘Ah, hah, sucks doesn’t it, when someone laughs or makes fun of you when things aren’t going your way.’”

While one might think that Scott’s outspoken criticism would make him vulnerable to anger from the Sox or their fans, it is worth noting that the outfielder — whom the Rays signed to a one-year, $6 million contract for 2012 — carries weaponry in the clubhouse.

John Lackey

The Red Sox and Rays wrap up a three-game series Wednesday afternoon at Fenway Park in a matchup of two pitchers headed in opposite directions. Boston starter John Lackey is on a month-long tear while Tampa Bay’s David Price is just 2-4 since June 22

Lackey (11-8, 6.13 ERA) has shown significant improvement since a rocky seven-run outing on July 4, winning each of his last six decisions. One of those wins came against the Rays on July 16, when Lackey allowed three runs on 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings. The outing came during Lackey’s best month of the season, as he went 4-1 with a 4.61 ERA in July.

Despite his noteworthy improvement, Lackey has only recorded one quality start in his last four outings — a three-run, six-hit performance against the Yankees on Aug. 6. In his last start, the right-hander gave up four runs on 10 hits to the Mariners in a 6-4 win. Lackey has been a better pitcher away from home this season, as he’s struggled to a 6.38 ERA and allowed opponents to hit .305 with nine home runs at Fenway Park.

As a team, the Rays are hitting .305 against Lackey, with Reid Brignac leading the pack at .429. Johnny Damon leads the team by far with 66 matchups with the Boston starter, hitting .361 with three doubles and five RBIs. B.J. Upton has managed just five hits in 25 plate appearances against Lackey, but one of those hits is a three-run homer. Matthew Joyce is the only other Ray to take Lackey deep.

Price (10-10, 3.76 ERA) was a solid 8-6 entering the month of July, but a sudden drop in run support has withered his record back down to .500. The Rays have lost six of Price’s last eight starts and have scored one run or fewer in four of those losses. Still, Price dominated the Yankees in his last start, as he held New York to one run on six hits over eight innings in a 5-1 win. The 25-year-old struck out four hitters in that outing, but he’s struggled a bit with his command as of late, walking at least two hitters in each of his last four starts. On Aug. 7 against the A’s, he lasted just 4 2/3 innings while allowing four runs on seven hits, including a home run. Price did have seven strikeouts in that start but walked three hitters as well.

As a team, the Red Sox are hitting .226 vs. Price in 148 combined plate appearances. Darnell McDonald has handled Price well, batting .353 with two home runs in 19 matchups. Marco Scutaro has a team-high 23 plate appearances against the Rays starter, but he’s struggled to a .136 average to go along with five strikeouts. The last time Price pitched against Boston, he got the win on July 15 with six innings of three-run, five-hit ball.

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B.J. Upton

The Rays have been testing the waters for potential suitors for struggling center fielder B.J. Upton, and four teams have reportedly emerged as possible destinations, according to the Tampa Tribune. The Nationals, Giants, Indians and Braves are interested in the 26-year-old, who’s hitting .227 this season.

The Rays aren’t under any pressure to shed Upton’s salary, and he could very well stay in a Tampa Bay uniform past the July 31 trade deadline. Either way, Upton doesn’t seem concerned about the speculation.

“I’m to the point now where I don’t really care,” he said Wednesday. “I turn on the TV, it’s on. I hear it all day. I’ve heard enough of it now. At this point, it is what it is.”

The Tribune also reported that the Rays have all but taken starting pitcher James Shields off the trading block.

“My gut feeling would that be I’m not going to get traded, that I’m going to stay here,” said Shields. “We’ll see.”

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Reds are looking to trade for Rays starting pitcher James Shields, which would explain why Tampa Bay scouts were evaulating Cincinnati minor leaguers this week.

Shields’ availability has come as somewhat of a surprise, as the 29-year-old leads the Rays in ERA (2.60) and strikeouts (145) entering Wednesday. The Reds have offensive talent in their farm system, especially at first base and catcher, areas the Rays are looking to improve upon.

The Reds rank 22nd in team ERA at 4.09, and the team’s highest ERA among starters belongs to Mike Leake, who’s at 4.11.

Josh Beckett

Josh Beckett will return to the mound for the Red Sox Sunday night in Tampa Bay, making his first start since July 8, when he left the game with a hyperextended knee. He’ll face off against Jeff Niemann, a pitcher who’s handled the Red Sox well in the past, although he’s yet to make a start against Boston this year.

Beckett (8-3, 2.27 ERA) continues to be the rock of the Red Sox rotation, although his ERA has ballooned a bit from its formerly American League leading form. The right-hander has picked up wins in four of his last five starts, although his last outing against the Orioles was a bit shaky. Beckett got the win thanks to eight first-inning runs from the Red Sox, but gave up three runs on seven hits before being removed with the knee injury.

Beckett was at his best the last time he visited Tropicana Field, tossing a one-hit shutout while striking out six and walking none back on June 15. If not for a third-inning infield single by nine-hitter Reid Brignac, Beckett could have been perfect.

The Rays have faced Beckett a total of 185 times, with Johnny Damon, Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton holding the lion’s share of plate appearances. Each of those three players has two home runs off Beckett. Damon leads the way with 56 plate appearances, hitting .269 with a team-high nine RBI and 12 strikeouts. Longoria has had the most success, batting .324 with five doubles and eight RBI. Ben Zobrist has had the most trouble with Beckett, managing just one hit in 15 plate appearances. As a team, the Rays are hitting .247 vs. the Boston starter.

Niemann (4-4, 4.53 ERA) will make his 11th start of the season and look to build on an impressive month of July. In his last two starts, he’s gone 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA, although he’s often had to work out of trouble, surrendering 15 hits and four walks in those two outings. The right-hander’s recent success finally shrunk his ERA below 5.00, where it had been hovering all season.

Niemann had a disastrous start to the year, posting a 1-4 record and a 5.74 ERA in his first six starts before being sent to the DL with a back injury in early May. He’s been solid since then, save for a rocky outing against the Astros (3 innings, 5 runs) on June 26. The Rays starter has struggled at Tropicana Field in five starts this season with a 1-3 record and a 5.53 ERA.

The 28-year-old has spent the entirety of his three-year career with Tampa Bay, and has faced Red Sox hitters a combined 42 times. Boston’s lineup has struggled overall, hitting just .190 with one home run and seven RBI. David Ortiz has the lone long ball to go along with two hits and two RBI in six career plate appearances. Marco Scutaro has a team-high 16 plate appearances vs. Niemann, but he’s only mustered three hits and has struck out three times. J.D. Drew also has three strikeouts in eight plate appearances, although he also has two doubles and two RBI.

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Josh Beckett

The fans at Tampa’s Tropicana Field will be treated to a pitching battle between a rookie phenom and a dominant veteran Wednesday night at 7:10 p.m. The Red Sox will give the ball to 31-year-old Josh Beckett, as the right-hander looks for his sixth win in his last seven decisions. The Rays will counter with Jeremy Hellickson, a 24-year-old hurler with the fourth-highest win total in the American League.

Beckett (5-2, 2.06 ERA) will look to build on another stellar start after holding the Yankees to two runs in seven innings on June 9. The Red Sox ace fanned six and walked two, while keeping his AL-leading ERA under 2.10 (Atlanta’s Jair Jurrjens leads the majors at 1.82).

Beckett has yet to face the Rays in 13 starts this season, and hasn’t started against Tampa Bay since April 2010. The Rays have made some serious roster changes since then, but three hitters have seen their fair share of Beckett, and have performed quite well.

Former Red Sox speedster Johnny Damon has a team-high 52 plate appearances against Beckett, hitting .292 with two homers, five doubles and nine RBI. On the other hand, Damon also leads the Rays with 11 strikeouts against the Boston starter. Evan Longoria has led the charge against Beckett, hitting .353 with two homers, five doubles and eight RBI in 35 plate appearances. B.J. Upton is hitting .308 in 29 plate appearances to go along with three doubles and two homers.

Beckett has shown pristine control against Tampa Bay, striking out 41 hitters and walking just seven in 160 total plate appearances.

After a spectacular month of May, Hellickson (7-4, 3.03 ERA) is slowly emerging as the AL Rookie of the Year candidate many expected him to be at the beginning of the season. The 24-year-old went 4-1 in five starts last month, and allowed just five runs for a 1.36 ERA.

Hellickson’s only start against Boston came earlier this season on April 11. The right-hander got his first win of the year at Fenway Park, tossing 5.1 innings of two-run ball in a 16-5 win. Hellickson gave up just one run in 7 1/3 innings against Seattle on June 4, but had his worst outing of the season in his last start. On June 10 vs. the Orioles, he surrendered five runs in 5 2/3 innings, including two homers.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is the only Red Sox player to face Hellickson more than three times, drawing a walk and hitting an RBI double in four career plate appearances. Seven other hitters have seen the rookie exactly three times, and five of those players have base hits. As a whole, the Red Sox are hitting .292 in 29 plate appearances against Hellickson. No player has a home run or more than one hit against the right-hander, although both Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz, of all people, have triples.

The rookie has struggled a bit with his command against the Red Sox, walking five hitters while striking out just one.

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PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — In retrospect, Johnny Damon admitted, maybe he should have gone back to Boston when the Red Sox were awarded a waiver claim on the outfielder last August.

Damon — now with the Rays, with whom he signed a one-year, $5.25 million deal this winter — suggested that his decision to exercise his no-trade power to block a move to Boston was a result of his expectation that it was a “slam dunk” that the Tigers would want to bring him back beyond the 2010 season. Instead, the 37-year-old said that he found out on the last day of the season that Detroit did not plan to make an effort to retain him, thus leaving Damon — who played for the Sox from 2002-05 — to wonder whether he should have returned to Boston.

“I enjoyed playing in Detroit, and actually was hoping to get back there. That was a big reason for vetoing the trade. If I would have known at the time that they weren’t going to bring me back, I would have showcased myself for the upcoming free agent year,” said Damon, who signed a one-year, $5.25 million deal with the Rays this winter. “[The Tigers] didn’t give me any indication. The ownership loved me. The fans loved me. So I thought it was close to being a slam dunk [that he would return]. But find out on the last day of the season. Okay, appreciate it…

“My whole thing was I wanted to stay in Detroit. I wanted to try to get another year with them. Things didn’t work out that way,” he added. “And now I’m here in a place where I’ve always wanted to be.”

Damon remains a dear figure to his former manager, Terry Francona, who found his ability to stay on the field for 149 games a year while throwing his body all over the field to be somewhat remarkable.

“[Damon is] one of my all-time favorites. One of the best guys you could ever have play as a manager. You can’t appreciate him too much,” said Francona. “There were days where he just got beat to [smithereens] and he’d call in the morning and go, ‘Don’t not play me. Let me have a chance to show up.’ He understood his obligation. He’d go out and play center field, even if he went 0-for-4, he’d lead off and play. I was impressed with him. He’s very dear to me. We loved him. And I know he went to the Yankees and he got booed when he came. Everybody that’s been around him appreciates what he’s done.”

“I wish he’d go somewhere else,” Francona added. “But that doesn’t mean he’s not dear to us. We love him. I just don’t want him to help these guys too much. Same with [Manny Ramirez].”

Damon is serving as the designated hitter and batting second for the Rays. Ramirez was slated to play left field for Tampa Bay, but was a late scratch out of concern about the wet outfield following heavy rains earlier today in Southwest Florida.