Boston Red Sox (55-35) @ Tampa Bay Rays (49-41)
Andrew Miller (3-0, 3.57) @ David Price (8-7, 3.70)
7:10PM EDT | Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, FL)
TV: NESN RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
GAME NOTES
At the unofficial halfway point of the season, the Red Sox are actually 55.5% percent finished with the season. They begin the second half against the AL East, the Rays to be exact, something that will be very commonplace over the rest of the season. The Red Sox have 72 games remaining, an evenly split 36 home and 36 away. 38 of the 72 remaining games will be played against the AL East: 13 vs. the Rays, 10 vs. the Orioles, 9 vs the Yankees, and 6 vs. the Blue Jays. In other scheduling notes, the Red Sox will play only 3 games on the west coast in the second half, in Seattle August 12-14. The longest road trip remaining is 8 games in Kansas City and Texas August 18-24. The longest home stand remaining, in the last, September 13-21 against the Blue Jays, Rays and Orioles, a total of 10 games. In September on the road, the Red Sox will not venture outside of the AL East, keeping the travel light for the final month of the season. In fact, the Red Sox will only play one series outside of the AL East for the final month September 2-4 vs. Texas.
INJURY REPORT
Boston: Josh Beckett, hyperextended knee (day-to-day); 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, scheduled to begin rehab 7/15); Jon Lester, strained left latissimus (placed on the 15-day DL July 6); Jed Lowrie, right shoulder injury (Placed on the 15-day DL on June 17)
Tampa Bay: Johnny Damon, sore left hand (day-to-day); Wade Davis, strained right forearm (Placed on the 15-day DL July 7); John Jaso, strained right oblique (Placed on the 15-day DL July 10)
PLAYER OF THE DAY
On July 15 1961, Gene Conley pitched a complete game against the Baltimore Orioles. Conely was a righthanded starting pitcher for the Red Sox from 1961-63. He first pitched for the Braves from 1952-1958, one season in Boston, the rest in Milwaukee, then the Phillies from 1959-1960. His time with the Red Sox was probably the least interesting of his professional sports career as Conley is the only individual to win championship titles in two major U.S. professional sports. Conley won the World Series with Hank Aaron and the Braves in 1957 but spent his winters as basketball player winning three championships with Bill Russell and the Celtics from 1959-1961. On the parquet, Conley was a 6-foot-8 reserve center/forward. Conley once played in 12 pro seasons in six years without taking a break, 6 in baseball, 6 in basketball.
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