Oakland Athletics (27-31) @ Boston Red Sox (31-26)
Trevor Cahill (6-3, 2.31) @ Josh Beckett (4-2, 1.80)
1:10 PM EDT | Fenway Park (Boston, MA)
TV: NESN RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
INJURY REPORT
Oakland: Tyson Ross, left oblique strain (Placed on 15 day DL May 20th); Brandon McCarthy, stress reaction in right scapula (Placed on the 15 day DL May 20th, retroactive to May 19th); Dallas Braden, stiff left shoulder (Placed on the 15 day DL April 18th retroactive to April 17th); Rich Harden, strained right shoulder (Placed on the 15 day DL March 30, retroactive to March 22nd, transferred to the 60 day DL April 18th); Adam Rosales, fractured right foot (Placed on the 60 day DL March 30th, retroactive to March 22nd)
Boston: Rich Hill, left elbow sprain (Placed on the 15 day DL on June 3rd, retroactive to June 2) Franklin Morales, left forearm strain (Placed on the 15 day DL May 29th, retroactive to May 26th); Darnell McDonald, sore left quad (Placed on the 15 day DL May 26th); Daisuke Matsuzaka, sprained elbow (Placed on the 15 day DL May 17th, transferred to the 60 day DL on June 3rd ); John Lackey, strained elbow (Placed on the 15 day DL May 16th, retroactive May 12th); Marco Scutaro, strained left oblique (Placed on the 15 day DL May 8th); Junichi Tazawa, right elbow surgery (placed on the 60 day DL March 26th)
GAME NOTES
With a win yesterday the Red Sox broke their four-game losing streak, and they entrust Josh Beckett with the ball today. Beckett seems to have regained his dominant form of 2007; he is first in the American League with his gaudy 1.80 ERA, and is second in the American league with .189 batting average against. That he is getting these results while receiving only 3.09 runs in support is no mean feat. Beckett is 5-3 with a 4.41 ERA in 8 career starts against the Athletics but has won his last three games against them. Keep an eye out for Mark Ellis and Hideki Matsui against Beckett; Ellis is hitting .375 with a home run against Josh, and Matsui has a .281 average with three homers against Josh. Facing the Sox will be Trevor Cahill. After going 6-0 with a 1.72 ERA and a .209 batting average against, Cahill has lost his last three starts with a 3.51 ERA and a .275 opponents batting average. Cahill ranks second in the AL in wild pitches with seven and is tied for seventh in walks with 30. Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia has had some success against Cahill; Pedroia is 3-5 with a home run against Cahill, and Ellsbury is 2-4 against him.
Lineups
Red Sox
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Jed Lowrie, SS
- J.D. Drew, RF
- Jason Varitek, C
Oakland
- David DeJesus, RF
- Ryan Sweeney, CF
- Josh Willingham, LF
- Hideki Matsui, DH
- Mark Ellis, 2B
- Daric Barton, 1B
- Landon Powell, C
- Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B
- Cliff Pennington, SS
Fun Facts
– With his next save, Jonathan Papelbon will reach 200 saves for his career (achieved in 357 career games). If he gets his next save before his 382nd career game, Papelbon will best the mark for fastest in history to 200 saves, set by Mariano Rivera.
– On June 4, 1913, Tris Speaker had his 22-game hitting streak broken by Eddie Cicotte of the Chicago White Sox.
– The 2011 Red Sox currently lead the American League with a .267 average, a .340 OBP, 529 hits and 114 doubles.
– And for today’s Totally Untrue Fun Fact: Desperate for attention in 1972, Oakland A’s speedster Herb Washington offered to style his chest hair into a handlebar mustache if Charley Finley would give him an extra $500. Horrified, Finley turned him down.