Red Sox 07 Game 58

Wednesday, June 6    McAfee Coliseum  10:05 PM ET

Tim Wakefield, RHP (5-6, 4.24)



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Joe Kennedy, LHP (1-4, 3.30)  

AL East Standings

Team	W	L	GB	L 10	X W	X L
Boston	37	20	-	5-5	36	21
Toronto	28	29	9.0	7-3	28	29
Baltimore	27	32	11.0	5-5	30	29
New York	25	31	11.5	4-6	30	26
Tampa Bay	24	32	12.5	5-5	22	34

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.

Red Sox:

 Not since Sept. 4, 2004 had Tim Wakefield been pounded for eight earned runs before his last start, on Friday night. But Wakefield's control deserted him against the Yankees, who touched him for five hits and six walks and scored eight times in 3 2/3 innings. Wakefield's ERA has ballooned from 1.79 to 4.24 in four starts since May 15.  

A's:

 Kennedy bounced back from a seven-run beating at the hands of the host Orioles to put together his strongest start of the season Friday night against the visiting Twins, holding Minnesota to a run on six hits over eight innings while throwing a season-high 110 pitches. As has often been the case this year, though, the A's offered little offensive support, so Kennedy, who has allowed one run in six of his 10 starts and has allowed more than three runs only once, was stuck with his fifth no-decision. 

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	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
K. Youkilis	7	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	.143
D. Ortiz	7	2	0	0	1	2	1	0	.286
M. Ramirez	21	9	5	0	1	5	3	1	.429
Wily Mo Pena	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
M. Lowell	14	3	1	0	0	2	0	1	.214
D. Mirabelli	12	4	0	0	1	3	0	1	.333
C. Crisp	19	4	0	0	0	1	1	3	.211
D. Pedroia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	81	23	8	1	3	13	8	8	.284

The batters have a pretty good record vs Kennedy. Looking at the expected starters for a Wakefield start you see that those batters have a cumulative batting average of .282. More importantly they have forced him to throw strikes. Eight walks vs eight strike outs. Wily Mo though has never faced Kennedy which would increase that Batting Average by two points (Drew is 1 for 4).

Make no mistake about it, Drew is now in a platoon situation. I fully expect him to sit against left handed pitchers for the rest of this road trip and quite possibly for this month. There is only one way for him to be full time again and that is by starting to hit.

Historical Pitching line

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
Kennedy	8	1	2	0	49	62	25	4	14	27	4.59	1.55
Wakefield	23	9	4	0	167 2/3	151	75	24	62	112	4.03	1.27

Kennedy's last start vs the Sox was in 2005 (9/16). In that game, played at Fenway Park, he pitched six innings allowing only one earned run. Overall, with Tampa Bay and Oakland he has faced the Sox as a starter eight times. He has went seven innings twice, six innings three times and five or less twice. His WHIP in those games was 1.58 with a 4.93 ERA.

Wakefield has started twenty three games with a nine and four record. In Oakland he is five and two with a 5.48 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in twelve games. He has averaged 5.78 innings in those games with his last start in Oakland being 8/14/2003.

Obviously, even with an extensive track record his success there is too long ago to amount to much. He has been much better at home with a 2.92 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, averaging 7 innings per game.


Chow!