Toronto Blue Jays (42-45) @ Boston Red Sox (50-35)
Ricky Romero (7-7, 2.75) @ Tim Wakefield (4-3, 4.82)
7:10PM EDT | Fenway Park (Boston, MA)
TV: NESN RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
GAME NOTES
Of Red Sox players with more than ten at-bats against Ricky Romero, Marco Scutaro has the lowest batting average, .333. Overall the current Red Sox roster hits Romero at .380/.469/.603. Surprisingly, J.D. Drew leads the way against the lefty, 11-for-22 with 5 BBs, a 3B and a HR. With those numbers, expect to see Drew in there against Romero. Romero has had a solid career so far, in 78 games he is 34-25 with a 3.70 ERA. But that does not reflect how he has pitched against the Red Sox. In 10 games vs. Boston he is 2-5 with a 7.69 ERA, his worst showing against any team in the majors. On April 18th, in Boston he went 4.1 giving up 5 runs on eight hits.
INJURY REPORT
Toronto: Yunel Escobar, swollen left hand (day-to-day); Casey Janssen, sore right forearm (Placed on the 15-day DL June 16 ); Jesse Litsch, (Placed on the 15-day DL 5/20 )
Boston: Clay Buchholz, lower back strain (Placed on the 15-day DL on June 19, retroactive to June 17); Carl Crawford, strained left hamstring (Placed on the 15-day DL June 18); Jon Lester, strained left latissimus (to be evaluated today); Jed Lowrie, right shoulder injury (Placed on the 15-day DL on June 17). Kevin Youkilis, bruised shoulder/back (day-to-day)
PLAYER OF THE DAY
On July 6, 1944, Red Sox outfielder Bob Johnson hit for the cycle against the Detroit Tigers. He went 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs, in a game won by the Red Sox 13-3. Johnson played for the Sox in 1944-1945 after starting his career with the Philadelphia Athletics and Washington Senators. Johnson totaled 13 seasons in the majors and was a 7-time All-Star including 1944 with the Red Sox. He finished his career a .296/.393/.506 hitter. His 288 career HRs ranked 8th in major league history at the time of his retirement. Writer Bob Carroll had this to say about Johnson: “Consistency may be the hobgoblin of little minds, but it can also make certain ballplayers nigh unto invisible. Indian Bob Johnson never had one of those super seasons that make everyone sit up and whistle. While phenoms came, collected their MVP trophies, and faded, he just kept plodding along hitting .300, with a couple dozen homers and a hundred ribbies year after year…like a guy punching a time clock.”
Line-ups will be posted in the comment when they are available, feel free to add them if they aren’t there.