Red Sox 07 Game 45

Tuesday, May 22      Yankee Stadium  7:05 PM ET
Julian Tavarez, RHP (2-4, 5.59) Red Sox (30-14)
     @
Mike Mussina, RHP (2-2, 5.64) Yankees (20-23) 

UPDATE: Added press pass link.

AL East Standings

Team	W	L	GB	L 10	X W	X L
Boston	30	14	-	7-3	29	15
New York	20	23	9.5	4-6	24	19
Baltimore	20	24	10.0	4-5	21	23
Toronto	19	24	10.5	6-4	21	22
Tampa Bay	18	25	11.5	4-6	16	27

ESPN.Com preview should be here.
Yahoo's preview should be here.
The recap after the game will be here.
From MLB.Com Scouting Report
MLB.com press pass is here.

Red Sox: Tavarez is coming off his best outing of the season. On May 17 against the Tigers, the righty allowed just four hits and a run over seven innings en route to a 2-1 victory. This is Tavarez's second start this season at Yankee Stadium. He pitched the Red Sox to victory there on April 29, allowing three hits and three runs over five innings. Tavarez has a 3.50 ERA in three starts this month.

Yankees: Mussina looks to rebound after taking a loss in his last outing on Wednesday against the White Sox, dropping a 5-3 decision in the first game of a doubleheader. Mussina has always been a creature of habit and is easily disrupted when his pitching schedule is thrown awry, so it wasn't surprising to hear him complain about a rainout that pushed his start back and affected his sharpness. His first two starts off the disabled list from a strained left hamstring had been quite good, so a strong performance at Boston on regular rest would help validate Mussina's claims.

As usual all statistics were found at the day by day database at Baseball Musings and this year at Baseball Reference.

Expected Batters vs opposing starter

Player	AB	H	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA
J. Lugo	23	6	2	0	1	3	0	3	.261
K. Youkilis	9	2	0	0	0	1	0	2	.222
D. Ortiz	49	11	0	0	3	7	5	19	.224
M. Ramirez	90	22	4	1	5	15	7	20	.244
J.D. Drew	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
M. Lowell	14	7	1	0	1	5	0	1	.500
J. Varitek	55	6	0	0	0	1	3	25	.109
C. Crisp	20	8	3	0	0	1	0	5	.400
D. Pedroia	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000
Totals	266	62	10	1	10	33	15	76	.233

If I had my preference then Mirabelli would start this game. Doug is 11 for 49 with three home runs vs Mussina while Varitek is just awful. However, I fully expect Tito to play Varitek to play. If he didn't play some one who was 10 for 19 last night (Hinske) against Wang, he is not going to play Mirabelli.

Historical Pitching line

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Tavarez	3	2	1	0	33	45	21	4	13	21	5.73	1.76
Mussina	50	19	4	2	337 1/3	317	130	34	89	295	3.47	1.20

A lot of history here by Mussina and most of it is pretty good. I also thought that I would show how the two have done at the Bronx.

Historical Pitching line in the Bronx

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Tavarez	2	1	0	0	10	9	7	1	6	4	6.30	1.50
Mussina	14	6	4	0	90 1/3	83	34	9	23	83	3.39	1.17

It doesn't look pretty. It also doesn't help that Tavarez has not been good after a loss this year. Still, I think it will be a competitive game and would not be surprised if the Sox come out with a win.

In order to win though, Manny and Drew need to start hitting. Chow!