Boston Red Sox (17-19) @ Toronto Blue Jays (16-20)
John Lackey (2-4, 7.16) @ Jesse Litsch (3-2, 4.04 )
7:07 PM EDT |Rogers Centre (Toronto, ON Canada.)
TV: NESN RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
INJURY REPORT
Toronto: Adam Lind, back soreness (Day-to-day, left game in sixth inning on May 7th); Jayson Nix, left shin contusion (Placed on the 15 day DL April 23rd); Jesse Carlson, strained left shoulder (Placed on the 60 day DL March 29th); Dustin McGowan, recovering from right shoulder surgery (Placed on the 15 day DL March 12th);
Boston: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)
GAME NOTES
Usually when a team gets sixteen hits, they win the game. Usually, that same team will score more than six runs. Of course that team would be the 2011 Red Sox, and so far nothing has gone as it should. The Sox look to rebound from a tough ten inning loss as they take on the Toronto Blue Jays Wednesday night. Perhaps no one needs a rebound more than Sox starter John Lackey, who comes in with a hefty 7.16 ERA after getting shellacked for 9 earned runs over 3 2/3 innings in his last start against the Angels. The big Texan looks for his third win and first against a team that is not in the American League West. Toronto counters with Jesse Litsch, who had his best start of the season in his last outing against Detroit. He struck out a season high 9 batters and gave up only one run in 6 1/3 innings. Litsch carries a 4.04 ERA and 3-2 record. Jose Iglesias gets his first major league start at short stop. He’ll turn the order over, batting ninth
Lineups
Red Sox
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrain Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- David Ortiz, DH
- J.D. Drew, RF
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Jarrod Saltalamcchia, C
- Jose Iglesias, SS
Toronto
- Yunel Escobar, SS
- Corey Patterson, LF
- Jose Bautista, RF
- Juan Rivera, DH
- Aaron Hill, 2B
- J. P. Arencibia, C
- David Cooper, 1B
- John McDonald, 3B
- Rajai Davis, CF
Stats
-Lackey has given up 6 or more runs in half of his starts.
-Litsch has given up 35 hits in 35 2/3 innings this season.
-In thirteen career at bats, Carl Crawford is hitting .385/.385/.615 against Litsch with a home run.
-After 3 hits last night, David Ortiz’s average is up to .281 and his OBP sits at .376
-Runners have stolen successfully 21 of the last 26 times against Matt Albers.
-At least the Sox can take pride in the fact that Lackey is better than a replacement level player. He has 0.1 WAR
-Victor Martinez is hitting .337 with 4 homers and 22 RBI’s in 89 at bats this season.
-All but one of Lackey’s starts has come against teams from the American League West.
Will lackey limit the damage tonight? Stop by the comments section and leave your thoughts and/or prayers for Lackey. We’d love to hear from you.