Detroit Tigers (22-19) @ Boston Red Sox (21-20)
Phil Coke (1-5, 4.54) @ Clay Buchholz (4-3, 3.94)
7:10 PM EDT |Fenway Park (Boston, MA)
TV: NESN RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
INJURY REPORT
Detroit: Carlos Guillen, recovering from knee surgery (Placed on the 15 day DL March 30th); Magglio Ordonez, right ankle weakness (Placed on the 15 day DL May 13th retroactive to May 11th);
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)
GAME NOTES
The Boston rain cost the Red Sox a chance to prove themselves against a tough lefty yesterday. Yet, it’s the other things they lost that may turn out to be more important in the days to come. In a span of less than twenty-four hours, John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka were both placed on the disabled list with various elbow maladies (although Lackey’s elbow may be the least of his concerns). In their place, veteran knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and former Yankee starter Alfredo Aceves will start. Both have made note multiple times throughout the season that they would like to start. This is their chance to back those remarks. Micahel Bowden and Scott Atchinson move up from Pawtucket to take their spots on the roster. With all the attention being placed on these transactions, it’s easy to forget that their starts won’t come until this weekend against the Cubs. First, the Red Sox have to deal with old friend Victor Martinez and the Detroit Tigers. They’ll do so with their three best pitchers. Clay Buchholz comes first, looking for his fourth straight win and fifth in his last six starts. After a rough start to the season, Buchholz has looked dominant in his last few outings. He comes in with a 3.94 ERA and a 4-3 record, after striking out a season high seven batters in last Friday’s start against the Yankees. Opposing him will be Phil Coke, acquired by the Tigers in the deal that sent Curtis Granderson to New York. A former reliever, Coke has had a rough start to the season, already recording five losses. Mike Cameron gets the start in right field and will bat seventh as J.D. Drew sits against the lefty. With Wakefield and Aceves etched into the rotation for the next few weeks, the games that Boston’s top three starters pitch in become all the more important. It is hard to predict exactly how the two substitutes will perform, putting all the more pressure on the pitchers who are expected to pitch well every time they start. Those expectations begin tonight for Clay Buchholz.
Lineups
Red Sox
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrain Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Jed Lowrie, SS
- Mike Cameron, RF
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Detroit
- Austin Jackson, CF
- Scott Sizemore, 2B
- Brennan Boesch, RF
- Miguel Cabera, 1B
- Victor Martinez, DH
- Jhonny Peralta, SS
- Alex Avila, C
- Ryan Raburn, LF
- Brandon Inge, 3B
Stats
-Buchhokz’s K/9 is down to 5.91 compared to a career mark of 6.85
-The Tigers have 16 stolen bases, only the Cubs and the Braves have less.
-After giving up 7 home runs last year, Jonathan Papelbon has not allowed one so far this season.
-No player on the Tiger’s roster has more than ten at bats against Buchholz.
-Jhonny Peralta has been as valuable as Miguel Cabera this season. Both have a 1.6 WAR.
-The Tigers were 12-17 before calling up second baseman Scott Sizemore on May 3rd. Their record since: 10-2
-Dustin Pedroia is hitting .209/.313/.261 against right handed pitching in 115 at bats this season. Against left handed pitching (40 AB’s): .350/.500/.475
Will the loss of Lackey and Daisuke be addition by subtraction? How will the Sox fare without them? Let us know what you think in the comments section and stick around for the game. We’d love to hear from you.