Boston Red Sox (25-21) @ Cleveland Indians (29-15)
Clay Buchholz (4-3, 3.42) @ Justin Masterson (5-2, 2.52)
7:05 PM EDT |Progressive Field (Cleveland, OH)
TV: NESN, ESPN2 RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
INJURY REPORT
Cleveland: Grady Sizemore, right knee contusion (Placed on the 15 day DL May 16th retroactive to May 11th); Travis Hafner, strained right oblique (Placed on the 15 day DL May 2oth); Alex White, right middle finger soreness (Placed on the 15 day DL May 21st retroactive to May 19th); Mitch Talbot, strained right elbow (Placed on the 15 day DL April 17th)
Boston: Daisuke Matsuzaka, sprained elbow (Placed on the 15 day DL May 17th); John Lackey, strained elbow (Placed on the 15 day DL May 16th, retroactive May 12th) to Marco Scutaro, strained left oblique (Placed on the 15 day DL May 8th); Dan Wheeler, strained calf (Placed on the 15 day DL May 5th); Bobby Jenks, bicep soreness (Placed on 15 day DL May 5th, retroactive to May 2nd); Felix Doubront, left groin strain (Placed on the 7 day DL on May 11)
GAME NOTES
When the Red Sox started the season 0-6, the Cleveland Indians did half the damage. Boston was swept away at Progressive Field in their second series of the year, catapulting a nation of fans to panic and discord. Of all teams, the Indians? A team that had finished twenty-five games back of their division leader the year before, winning only sixty-nine themselves? That sweep doesn’t look so bad anymore. The Indians have a major league best 29-15 record and come off a three game drubbing of Cincinnati. Now, the Red Sox return to Progressive Field seven weeks later, looking quite strong themselves. Winners of eight of their last nine, Boston sends Clay Buchholz to the mound for the first game of this 2007 ALCS rematch. Buchholz has been strong in his last five outings, the most recent a seven inning shutout of the Detroit Tigers. He struck out seven in that one, and lowered his ERA to 3.42. He matches up against former Red Sox Justin Masterson, who was traded to Cleveland for catcher Victor Martinez back in 2009. The twenty-six year old has been dominant this season, posting a 2.52 ERA and a 5-2 record. He comes off a loss in which he pitched eight innings of one run ball against the White Sox, striking out eight. While the Sox have been playing great baseball as of late, this road trip should be a good test. The first comes against an old friend.
Lineups
Red Sox
- Jacoby Ellsbury
- Dustin Pedroia
- Adrian Gonzalez
- Kevin Youkilis
- David Ortiz
- J.D. Drew
- Jed Lowrie
- Carl Crawford
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Cleveland
- Michael Brantley, CF
- Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
- Shin-Soo Choo, RF
- Travis Buck, DH
- Matt Laporta, 1B
- Orlando Cabrera
- Jack Hannahan, 3B
- Austin Kearns, LF
- Lou Marson, C
Stats
-Buchholz has a 3-0 record this month, with a 1.40 ERA.
-Cleveland ranks first in the American League with a .266 average.
-Justin Masterson’s 0.15 HR/9 is the second best in baseball among starting pitchers.
-Clevland’s .426 SLG is second in baseball behind the Yankees.
-Asdrubal Cabrera and Justin Masterson lead the team in WAR with 1.7
-Adrian Gonzalez’s last 13 games: .431 with 6 homers and 19 RBI’s.
-The Indians are 18-4 at home, tying a franchise record.
-Boston has lost five in a row at Progressive field dating back to last season.
-Lefties are hitting .326 off Masterson, righties only .141
How are you feeling about this team after the weekend? Let us know in the comments section and stick around for the game, we’d love to hear from you.
Join us Thursday afternoon for a live chat during the Sox/Tigers game.