Boston Red Sox (10-13) @ Baltimore Orioles (10-12)
Jon Lester (2-1, 2.59) vs. Brad Bergesen (0-3, 5.40)
7:05 PM EDT | Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore, Maryland)
TV: NESN RADIO: WEEI 850, SBN 1510
INJURY REPORT
Boston: NONE
Baltimore: J.J. Hardy, strained left oblique (placed on 15-day DL 4/13, retroactive to 4/10); Chris Jakubauskas, strained right groin, (placed on 15-day DL 4/18); Brian Matusz, strained left intercostal (placed on 15-day DL 4/3, retroactive to 3/30)
GAME NOTES
At one point last night, when tensions were mounting in both the Red Sox and Bruins game, I said they are either both going to win or both going to lose. Well, once the Red Sox lost, I’m glad I was wrong and the Bruins won. But here’s the thing. I’m a bandwagon Bruins fan. I really only watch around playoff time. The Red Sox? A whole other story. It’s life or death. (Patriots and Celtics? Somewhere in between, in case you’re wondering.) Going into last night, if someone had given me the choice of the Bruins winning Game 7 against the Canadiens or the Red Sox winning an April game against the Orioles, I would have chosen the Red Sox. Crucify me in the comments if you wish. (Or agree with me, that is also welcome.) Lester vs. Bergesen tonight as the Red Sox hope to salvage the series against the O’s and return to Boston on a high note.
PLAYER OF THE DAY
Today is April 28th, Lee Stange had 28 wins for the Red Sox in his career. Stange was a right-handed pitcher, primarily a reliever, over his career from 1961-1970; he spent 1966-1970 with the Red Sox. He went 8-10 withe a 2.77 ERA for the Impossible Dream team of 1967. He pitched two scoreless innings in Game 2 of the World Series, an eventual Red Sox win. He also pitched for Minnesota, Cleveland and Chicago (AL) over his career. Stange was a roving pitching instructor in the Red Sox system in 1971, 1980 and 1985-94. He is currently the pitching coach for NCAA Division II Florida Tech.
Side note: When I was choosing a player for today, my first thought was home runs; did anybody interesting hit 28 home runs in their Red Sox career? It turns out that in the entire 108-year history of the Boston Red Sox, two players have hit exactly 28 home runs in their Red Sox careers: Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez.