Boston Red Sox (72-43) @ Seattle Mariners (51-66)
John Lackey (10-8, 6.14) @ Blake Beavan (3-2, 2.83)
10:10 PM EDT | Safeco Field (Seattle, WA)
TV: NESN RADIO: WEEI 850, WWZN 1510
GAME NOTES
Its been as high as 22.09. Its been as low as 5.65. It touched 8.01 somewhere in between. The John Lackey roller coaster has been almost everywhere this season. (Except a place where, you know, we want it to be.) But tonight could be the night, the long anticipated dip below 6.00 into the absolute mediocrity that is an ERA in the 5’s. After a solid series in Minnesota, the Sox head to Seattle for a weekend set with the Mariners. Like Target Field, Safeco is always a tough place to play for the road team, even if the host team was also host to a seventeen game losing streak earlier this year.
Lackey comes off a decent outing against the Yankees. He went six innings, allowing three runs while striking out six, to pick up his tenth win. (Somewhere Josh Beckett and his nine wins sigh.) Rookie Blake Beavan gets the start for Seattle. This will be his seventh start of the season, and his first six have been resoundingly solid. He comes into tonight with a 2.83 ERA and a 3-2 record. He pitched a gem against the Angels in his last start, going eight innings and only surrendering one run. He only struck out two, but walked none. Dustin Pedroia is back at second base after a scheduled off day on Wednesday.
Lineups
*Update- Kevin Youkilis has been scratched from the Red Sox lineup with a stiff back. The new lineup is as follows:
Boston
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Jed Lowrie, 3B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
- Josh Reddick, RF
- Marco Scutaro, SS
Seattle
- Ichiro Suzuki, RF
- Franklin Gutierrez, CF
- Dustin Ackley, 2B
- Mike Carp, DH
- Justin Smoak ,1B
- Adam Kennedy, 3B
- Miguel Olivo, C
- Luis Rodriguez, SS
- Trayvon Robinson, 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 (placed on 15-day DL July 26); Bobby Jenks, strained back (placed on 15-day DL July 16); Kevin Youkilis, stiff back (scratched from tonight’s lineup)
Seattle: Brendan Ryan, strained AC joint in shoulder (placed on 15-day DL August 7th, retroactive to August 4th) ; David Aardsma, sprain of right ulnar collateral ligament (English translation was not available) (moved to 60 day DL on June 13th) ; Jack Wilson, removed from Wednesday’s lineup due to fatigue (day-to-day)
Stats
-Beavan has only 17 strikeouts in 41 innings of work this year.
-Adrian Gonzalez has one home run since July 7th. But it has nothing to do with the Home Run Derby. He promises. Seriously.
-The Mariners have the worst collective WAR in baseball with a 3.3 mark. The next closest is the Orioles with an 8.7. Yeesh.
-Jacoby Ellsbury has only stolen three bases since July 6th.
-Seattle lost seventeen straight games this season. Let’s just meditate on that for a moment.