Boston Red Sox (64-39) @ Chicago White Sox (51-52)
Tim Wakefield (6-3, 5.15) @ Gavin Floyd (8-9, 4.11)
8:10PM EDT | U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago, IL)
TV: NESN, MLBN RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
GAME NOTES
The White Sox sit a game under .500 but are only 3.0 games behind Detroit in a mediocre yet crowded AL Central race. The White Sox it appears are plagued with mediocrity especially on the offensive side. They are hitting .251/.318/.382 as a team which ranks 9th, 7th, and 11th in the American League. The Red Sox of course rank first in each of those categories. The White Sox pitching staff has been fairly solid with a team ERA of 3.66 good for 5th in the AL. For perspective the Red Sox team ERA is 3.92, 8th in the AL. The White Sox had a tough April going 10-18 but have since rebounded to go 41-34 since May 1, the try and come back in AL Central race.
INJURY REPORT
Boston: Clay Buchholz, lower back strain (placed on 15-day DL June 19, retroactive to June 17); Carl Crawford, strained left elbow (day-to-day); J.D. Drew, left shoulder impingement (placed on 15-day DL July 26); Bobby Jenks, strained back (placed on 15-day DL July 16); Jed Lowrie, right shoulder injury (placed on 15-day DL June 17)
Chicago: Ramon Castro, fractured right hand (placed on 15-day DL 7/10); Tony Pena, right elbow tendinitis (placed on 15-day DL, May 29, appears lost for the season)
PLAYER OF THE DAY
On December 1, 1970 the Red Sox and White Sox came together on a three player trade that sent future Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio to the Red Sox for Luis Alvarado and Mike Andrews. Aparicio was a shortstop who began his career with the White Sox in 1956, after a stint with the Orioles from 1963-67 he returned to Chicago until this trade in 1970 sent him to Boston. He played the 3 final seasons of his career with the Red Sox. Aparicio was mostly known for his durabilty and defensive prowess. He was a nine-time Gold Glove winner and he held the major league record for game played by a shortstop (2,583) until it was surpassed by his fellow Venezuelan Omar Vizquel in 2009. He is fifth all time with 16 straight seasons with 500+ plate appearances.
Boston Red Sox http://www.coasttocoasttickets.com/mlb_baseball/redsox_tickets.shtml
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