Boston Red Sox (29-22) @ Detroit Tigers (24-18)
Clay Buchholz (4-3, 3.30) @ Andrew Oliver (0-0, 0.00)
1:05 PM EDT |Comerica Park (Detroit, MI)
TV: NESN, TBS RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
INJURY REPORT
Detroit: Phil Coke,(Placed on the 15 day DL May 24th) ;Brad Thomas, left elbow inflammation (Placed on the 15 day DL May 21st retroactive to May 11th); 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: Darnell McDonald, sore left quad (Placed on the 15 day DL May 26th); J.D. Drew, strained right hamstring (Day-to day, missed Wednesday’s game); 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
After being washed away before it could begin, the last two games of this four game set will be played in a day/night doubleheader. Tim Wakefield twirled a gem as the Sox picked up their fourth straight win and isolated themselves in first place on Friday night. Clay Buchholz takes the mound for the last time in a month that has seen him surge back to the dominance he displayed last season. He went seven and one third innings last Monday in Cleveland, giving up two runs while striking out four. He carries a 4-3 mark and 3.3o ERA into the night. The Tigers counter with lefty Andrew Oliver, who was just called up to the major league roster to replace the ailing Phil Coke in the rotation. The top prospect has not been in the majors this season, but manager Jim Leyland hopes he can simmer Boston’s blistering bats. Oliver pitched his way to a 4-3 record and a 3.31 ERA in triple A Toledo. Mike Cameron gets the nod in right against the lefty, as J.D. Drew still nurses his hamstring. David Ortiz gets the morning off as Kevin Youkilis gets the start at DH. Drew Sutton will man the hot corner in Youk’s place and bat seventh. For the first time this year, the Sox will indeed “play two”, and Buchholz looks to get things started on the right note this afternoon.
Lineups
Red Sox
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- Jed Lowrie, SS
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Drew Sutton, 3B
- Mike Cameron, RF
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Detroit
- Austin Jackson, CF
- Andy Dirks, LF
- Brennan Boesch, LF
- Miguel Cabrera, 1B
- Victor Martinez, DH
- Jhonny Peralta, SS
- Alex Avila, C
- Ryan Raburn, 2B
- Brandon Inge, 3B
Stats
-The Red Sox lead the American League with a .345 OBP, and are behind only the Cardinals, who sit at .360, in the majors.
-Buchholz is 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA in the month of May.
-Jonathan Papelbon’s 0.9 WAR is tied for first along with Mariano Rivera and Craig Kimbrel among all relievers.
-Oliver went 0-4 with a 7.36 ERA in five starts last season for the Tigers.
-Dustin Pedroia is batting .318 in his last five games.
-Buchholz is 1-1 with a 2.23 ERA in five career starts against Detroit.
-The Red Sox have not been alone in first place since July 19, 2009.
-Buchholz’s HR/FB ratio sits at 11.3%, more than double last year’s 5.6%.
-Jed Lowrie leads the majors in average against left handed pitchers with a .434 mark.
Will the Sox continue to stay hot? What has been the key to this streak? Let us know in the comments section and stick around for the game. We’d love to hear from you.