Tampa Bay Rays (83-67) @ Boston Red Sox (87-63)
Jeff Niemann (10-7, 3.97) @ Jon Lester (15-7, 3.07)
4:10 PM EDT | Fenway Park (Boston, MA)
TV: FOX RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
GAME NOTES
After winning the most crucial game of the season, the Red Sox will try to push the Tampa Bay Rays further down the Wild Card standings in today’s tilt at Fenway Park. Jon Lester hopes to have better success against the Rays than he did on Sunday, when he went only four innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Lester is 6-4 with a 4.01 ERA in his career against the Rays at Fenway.
Facing the Sox batters will be Jeff Niemann. The Rice University graduate is 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA against the Red Sox this year, holding them to an .086 average. Niemann has allowed only two runs to Boston this year, both solo home runs by Jason Varitek and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Lineups
Boston Red Sox
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Josh Reddick, RF
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Mike Aviles, 3B
- Marco Scutaro, SS
Tampa Bay Rays
- Desmond Jennings, LF
- B.J. Upton, CF
- Evan Longoria, 3B
- Ben Zobrist, 2B
- Johnny Damon, DH
- Sean Rodriguez, SS
- Casey Kotchman, 1B
- Brandon Guyer, RF
- Jose Lobaton, C
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, broken finger (placed on 15-day DL July 26, placed on 60-day DL September 13); Erik Bedard, left knee, left lat (day to day, likely to miss one start); Jed Lowrie, bruised nerve in left shoulder (day-to-day); Kevin Youkilis, left hip bursitis and sports hernia (day-to-day)
Tampa Bay: Alex Cobb, thoracic outlet syndrome (placed on the 15-day DL August 7); Sam Fuld, strained right wrist tendon (day-to-day); Kyle Farnsworth, right elbow tenderness (day-to-day)
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Fun Facts
– With last night’s loss, James Shields’ record at Fenway Park dropped to 1-9. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that is the lowest lifetime winning percentage for any pitcher with at least 10 decisions at Fenway Park.
– On September 17, 1937, Orlando Cepeda, the first designated hitter for the Boston Red Sox, was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
– And for today’s Totally Untrue Fun Fact: Jeff Niemann holds the puppy-punting record at Rice University with a 49-yard boot.