Boston Red Sox (25-22) @ Cleveland Indians (30-15)
Josh Beckett (3-1, 1.73) @ Fausto Carmona (3-4, 4.76)
7:05 PM EDT |Progressive Field (Cleveland, OH)
TV: NESN 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
The Red Sox got a taste of late inning magic that has been happening all season at Progressive Field as the Indians became the first team to reach thirty wins this season. Daniel Bard collapsed in the eighth inning after Dustin Pedroia had to leave in the top frame after taking an awkward route around second base. Pedroia claims to be fine, he was scheduled to sit out today’s contest even before the injury, and he expects to be back in the lineup tomorrow night. Bard, on the other hand has looked shaky on the mound as of late. Josh Beckett looks to right the ship tonight as he climbs upon the same mound that he did to start the season. Beckett was the loser in that one, further propelling the doubt that had been cast his way in the off season. Of course, he hasn’t heard from many doubters lately. Beckett has been Boston’s best starter this season, coming into the night with a league leading 1.73 ERA and a 3-1 record. He had to come out of his last start early with a stiff neck. He had pitched six innings to that point, giving up one run and striking out three. Cleveland counters with the man who many ordained their best pitcher coming into the season, Fausto Carmona. He has not performed like an ace so far, posting a 3-4 record with a 4.75 ERA. The White Sox pounded Carmona in his last start to the tune of eight runs in five innings. Drew Sutton gets his first major league start since last October as he starts at second base. He’ll bat ninth. Jed Lowrie slides up to second in the lineup in Pedroia’s absence. Varitek will catch Beckett. After a slim lead was coughed up last night, the Sox look to redeem themselves against Fausto Carmona and the team with the best record in baseball.
Lineups
Red Sox
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Jed Lowrie, SS
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- David Ortiz, DH
- J.D. Drew, RF
- Jason Varitek, C
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Drew Sutton, 2B
Cleveland
- Michael Brantley, LF
- Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
- Shin-Soo Choo, RF
- Carlos Santana, C
- Travis Buck, DH
- Orlando Cabrera, 2B
- Matt LaPorta, 1B
- Jack Hannahan, 3B
- Ezequiel Carrera, CF
Stats
-Beckett’s 1.7 WAR is tied for the seventeenth best in the majors among starting pitchers.
-Cleveland has made only 22 errors this season, tied for third least in the majors. Boston is ranked twelfth with 25.
-Daniel Bard has given up at least a run in 4 of his past 7 appearances.
-Dustin Pedroia’s RBI single last night marked his first RBI since May 2nd.
-Adrian Gonzalez has grounded into 10 double plays, tied for third most in the majors.
-Beckett’s 0.47 HR/9 is down from a career mark of 0.99.
-The Indians have won eleven games in their last at bat, most in the majors.
-On the road, Boston has not rallied from a deficit when trailing after the third inning this season.
-The Red Sox and Yankees are the only teams in Baseball that haven’t had a pitcher go nine innings for a complete game.
How will the Sox do after a tough loss last night? Let us know what you think 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.