Baltimore Orioles (63-90) @ Boston Red Sox (88-66)
Rick VandenHurk (0-0, 6.00) @ Erik Bedard (5-9, 3.50)
7:10 PM EDT | Fenway Park (Boston, MA)
TV: NESN, MLB Network RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
GAME NOTES
The Red Sox take on the Orioles tonight in the third of a four-game series. Last night’s 18-9 victory to gain a split of a doubleheader and maintaining a two game lead over the Rays for the AL Wild Card should help calm the collective nerves of Red Sox Nation.
Hopefully Erik Bedard won’t cause those nerves to jangle tonight. Bedard is 1-2 with a 3.66 ERA with the Red Sox, with 32 strikeouts against 13 walks. Bedard is undefeated against his former team, going 3-0 against the Orioles after starting 111 games for the O’s in the first five seasons of his career.
Rick VandenHurk takes the mound for the Orioles tonight. After 32 starts for the Marlins, VandenHurk is making his third start for the Orioles. In two relief appearances against the Red Sox, VandenHurk has given up one earned run in two innings. Adrian Gonzalez hit a home run off of VandenHurk in their National League days.
Lineups
Boston Red Sox
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Josh Reddick, RF
- Carl Crawford, CF
- Marco Scutaro, SS
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
- Mike Aviles, 3B
Baltimore Orioles
- Robert Andino, 2B
- J.J. Hardy, SS
- Nick Markakis, RF
- Vlad Guerrero, DH
- Matt Wieters, C
- Adan Jones, CF
- Mark Reynolds, 1B
- Chris Davis, 3B
- Nolan Reimold, LF
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); Kevin Youkilis, left hip bursitis and sports hernia (day-to-day)
Baltimore: Cesar Izturis, left groin strain (placed on 15-day DL August 8)
Fun Facts
– Jacoby Ellsbury has a 31-game hitting streak against the Baltimore Orioles. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this ties Jacoby with Hall-of-Famers Earl Averill and Jimmie Foxx, who each performed the feat against the St. Louis Browns (who moved to Baltimore in 1954).
– On September 20, 1919, Babe Ruth played his last games at Fenway Park as a member of the Boston Red Sox in a doubleheader. Ruth scored the winning run in each game. On September 20, 1968, Mickey Mantle hit his 536th and final home run off Jim Lonborg in a 4-3 Red Sox victory at the original Yankee Stadium. And on September 20, 1988, Wade Boggs became the first player in the modern era to get 200 hits in six consecutive seasons. Boggs would add a seventh season to that record in 1989.
– And for today’s Totally Untrue Fun Fact: When Baltimore manager Buck Showalter was the skipper of the Yankees, George Steinbrenner demanded that Showalter bring him an Italian sub every day. When Larry David heard of this, he changed the food to calzone and a script for Seinfeld was born.