Cleveland Indians (54-52) @ Boston Red Sox (66-41)
David Huff (1-1, 0.71) @ Josh Beckett (9-4, 2.17)
7:10 PM EDT | Fenway Park (Boston, MA)
TV: NESN RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
GAME NOTES
Daniel Bard did something very un-Bard-like last night and gave up three runs. Meanwhile, John Lackey did something very John Lackey-like and gave up five. The Sox lost 9-6. But today is a new day, and any day that has involved Josh Beckett has usually been a good one for Boston this year. He’ll take the mound tonight looking to avenge last night’s loss and win the second game of this four game series against Cleveland. He had a bizarre outing in his last start, giving up four runs (three earned) in the fifth inning, but pitching scoreless ball in his other six innings. He comes in with a 9-4 record and a 2.12 ERA. Cleveland gives the nod to lefty David Huff, who is making only his second start of the season. The Indians celebrated his first start by getting no-hit by Ervin Santana. Despite taking the loss in that game, he only gave up one run through five and two-thirds innings. The loss moved him to 1-1 on the year, with a 0.71 ERA. After making his much anticipated debut (Well, I was excited) last night in relief of a dizzy Marco Scutaro, Mike Aviles gets his first start as a member of the team. He’ll play shortstop and bat seventh. Josh Reddick once again sits against a lefty, with Darnell McDonald getting the call in right field. The platoon advantage….right?
Lineups
Boston
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Mike Aviles, SS
- Jason Varitek, C
- Darnell McDonald, RF
Cleveland
- Michael Brantley, LF
- Jason Kipnis, 2B
- Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
- Travis Hafner, DH
- Carlos Santana, C
- Kosuke Fukudome, RF
- Lonnie Chisenhall, 3B
- Matt LaPorta, 1B
- Ezequiel Carrera, CF
INJURY REPORT
Boston: Clay Buchholz, lower back strain (placed on 15-day DL June 19, retroactive to June 17); 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, scheduled to start rehab assignment August 1)
Cleveland: Shin-Soo Choo, fractured left thumb (placed on 15-day DL June 27th)
Stats
-Beckett’s last start, a loss against Kansas City, was his first loss at Fenway this year. He has posted a 1.88 ERA at home.
-Asdrubal Cabrera and Travis Hafner both have good numbers against Beckett, going 4 for 13 and 6 for 17 respectively.
-The Red Sox lead the majors in BABIP with a .315 mark. Surprisingly enough, the Astros are second with a .312 average.
-Asdrubal Cabrera’s home run off Daniel Bard last night snapped a 26 1/3 scoreless inning streak for the set up man. He went over two months without giving up a run.
-The Red Sox have held sole position of first place in the American League East since July 7th.
-Josh Reddick is hitting .409/.458/.591 against lefties this year.
Enjoy the game everyone. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section, we’d love to hear from you.