Red Sox 07 game 73
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AL East Standings
| Team | W | L | GB | L 10 | X W | X L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 47 | 25 | - | 7 - 3 | 45 | 27 |
| New York | 36 | 35 | 10.5 | 6-4 | 42 | 29 |
| Toronto | 35 | 37 | 12.0 | 5-5 | 37 | 35 |
| Baltimore | 32 | 41 | 15.5 | 3-7 | 36 | 37 |
| Tampa Bay | 31 | 40 | 15.5 | 3-7 | 28 | 43 |
ESPN.Com preview should be here.
Yahoo's preview should be here.
The recap after the game will be here.
MLB.Com press pass
From MLB.Com Scouting Report
Red Sox: The knuckleballer pulled his record up to .500 by beating the Giants in his last start. Wakefield didn't have his best stuff in that one, giving up eight hits and five runs over 5 2/3 innings. In four June starts, Wakefield is 2-2 with a 6.38 ERA. Wakefield is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA lifetime in three starts against the Padres.
Padres Young was working on another gem on Saturday in his previous start, opening the game with three scoreless and hitless innings before plunking Derrek Lee with a pitch to start the fourth frame. On his way to first base, Lee took a swing at Young and the benches cleared. Both players were ejected. Up until that point, Young had walked two and struck out two.
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 | Hits | 2b | 3b | HR's | RBI | BB's | K's | BA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.D. Drew | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .091 |
| D. Pedroia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| D. Ortiz | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | .333 |
| M. Ramirez | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | .500 |
| K. Youkilis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| C. Crisp | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| D. Mirabelli | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| J. Lugo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 6 | .192 |
Not a lot of history here for the batters and what is there is pretty anemic, except for the BB to K's ratio. Still, the way the Sox are swinging the bats I don't think it will really matter. I think Lowell may sit once again just to give his thumb more rest. He has no history vs Young so you can't say it is a bad move to take.
Look for good at bats and scrounging for runs to start early and then watch Young self destruct. Player to watch, Lugo goes 2 for 4 with a double and a triple!
Historical Pitching line
| Pitcher | GS | W | L | Sho | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.5 |
| Young | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 7.88 | 1.38 |
Wakefield as a Sox has only faced the Padres twice, both in relief appearances. He has made one start against San Diego, but that was way back in 1993. It was a very good outing though as he went seven only allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and 9 walks, and earned the win.
Young has faced the Sox before, so he should not be fooling any of the batters. Still he has had a decent start this year as he is 6 and 3 with a 2.26 ERA. On an ERA basis, you would have to think that Young and the Padres have the advantage. Still, I like the way the Sox are playing right now so I expect them to hit Young fairly well, look for doubles and triples to come in bunches and for Young to be gone by the sixth.
Historical Pitching Line Last 5 Starts
| Pitcher | GS | W | L | Sho | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | K | ERA | WHIP | IP / GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 29 | 21 | 3 | 11 | 20 | 6.10 | 1.29 | 6.20 |
| Young | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 30 2/3 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 27 | 1.17 | .88 | 6.13 |
How weak is the Padre offense? Just look at the last five starts for Young. Someone pitching into the seventh with a 1.17 ERA should be better than 1 and 0. His worst game was his three inning stint against Chicago, when he got thrown out after going three innings. In the other four games he went seven innings three times and 6 2/3's in the other game. All of the those starts were good quality starts.
Wakefield on the other hand has been up and down. He had a bad outing vs Texas and the spankees which he followed with very good games vs Oakland and Colorado, followed by his mediocre game vs the Giants last weekend. Still, I think the baseball will be knuckling like mad and the Padres will striking out a lot today.
Looking Ahead
Sox are now 3 and 1 on this road trip. Two more wins in the next five games will give them another winning road trip. The only game that looks like a good match up for the Sox would be game one in Seattle when Tavarez faces Weaver. Tuesday will see either Gabbard or Lester vs King Felix.
I really think that the Sox should keep Lester down on the farm. Don't bring him up until he is ready to stay up with the big league team. In fact, I wouldn't be surpised if he didn't get called up until mid August. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Gabbard has already been up once this year and he was great against the Braves, so he has definetly earned another chance IMHO. Knowing Theo and them though, since the Mariners are a right handed hitting team, I would not be surprised if Pauley was called up to pitch. Will know for sure in a couple more days.
Chow!
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