Baltimore Orioles (19-20) @ Boston Red Sox (20-20)
Chris Tillman (4-1, 2.96) @Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-3, 4.64)
7:10 PM EDT |Fenway Park (Boston, MA)
TV: NESN RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
INJURY REPORT
Baltimore: Brian Matusz, strained back (Placed on the 15 day DL on April 3rd retroactive to March 30th);Justin Duchscherer, hip (Placed on the 60 day DL March 29th)
Boston:Marco Scutaro, strained left oblique (Placed on the 15 day DL May 8th); Dan Wheeler, strained calf (Placed on the 15 day DL May 5th); Bobby Jenks, bicep soreness (Placed on 15 day DL May 5th, retroactive to May 2nd)
GAME NOTES
For a team capable of taking five of six from the Yankees this year, there is no excuse for how the Red Sox have performed against the Baltimore Orioles in the past two seasons. After dropping two to the O’s earlier this year at Camden Yards, the Sox look to improve on their .500 record the next two days at Fenway Park. Daisuke Matsuzaka gets the call from manager Terry Francona. He’s on extra rest after being pushed back in the rotation so Jon Lester could pitch against the Yankees yesterday. Matsuzaka comes in with a 4.64 ERA and a 3-3 record. He picked up a win in his last start against Minnesota despite giving up four runs in five innings of work. He’s been very consistent since his second start of the year where he was shellacked for seven runs in two innings. He faces the young right-hander Chris Tillman. He’s off to a rocky start this season, carrying a 6.15 ERA and a 2-3 mark. He recorded a win in his last start against Seattle, pitching six innings and giving up only one run. They may have just swept the Yankees, but the Sox can’t afford to keep giving games away to lesser teams like the Orioles, and that’s exactly what Daisuke Matsuzaka looks to avoid tonight.
Lineups
Red Sox
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrain Gonzalez, 1B
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- David Ortiz, DH
- J. D. Drew, RF
- Jed Lowrie, SS
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Jason Varitek, C
Baltimore
- Brain Roberts, 2B
- Nick Markakis, RF
- Derrek Lee, 1B
- Vladimir Guerrero, DH
- Luke Scott, LF
- Adam Jones, CF
- Matt Wieters, C
- Mark Reynolds, 3B
- J.J. Hardy, SS
Stats
-Daisuke accounted for a few of the losses against the O’s last year, going 1-2 with a 7.56 ERA in three starts.
-Tillman has not fared well against his opposition either. He has one career start against Boston in which he gave up four runs in only an inning and a third of work.
-David Ortiz is hitting .364 in the month of May.
-Crawford against Tillman (12 AB’s): .500/.500/.917 with two triples.
-Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s homer last night was his first since August 2nd of 2009.
-Everyone expected Mark Reynolds to have a low average, but he’s hitting .185. Even worse, he’s slugging only .333.
-Matt Wieters leads the Orioles in WAR at 1.2. He has hit Daisuke well at .545/.583/1.000 with a homer and two doubles in twelve at bats.
-Daisuke has only thrown seven innings in the last sixteen days.
How are you feeling about the team after the weekend sweep? Let us know in the comments section and stick around for the game. We’d love to hear from you.