Red Sox 2008 Game 58 Preview

			@
J. Lester		3-3, 3.55		G. Olson		4-1, 4.09
Red Sox		33 - 24		Orioles		26 - 27

Saturday, May 31            Oriole Park at Camden Yards  ✠ 7:05 PM ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	1 R W	1 R L	X W	X L
Tampa Bay	33	22	-	7-3	8	7	30	25
Boston	33	24	1.0	5-5	9	8	32	25
Toronto	31	26	3.0	8-2	9	10	32	25
New York	27	27	5.5	7-3	8	6	27	27
Baltimore	26	27	6.0	3-7	12	8	25	28

ESPN.Com Preview .
Yahoo's Preview .
ESPN.Com after the game Recap.
MLB.Com Press Pass
From MLB.Com Scouting Report

Red Sox: Lester's first start since throwing a no-hitter turned into his first loss in six weeks when the Oakland Athletics got the better of the left-hander in a 6-3 decision. Nonetheless, Lester allowed three earned runs in five innings, extending to six the number of consecutive starts in which he's given up three or fewer earned runs. Lester had a solid outing in his last appearance against Baltimore on May 14. He allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while fanning four, leaving after six innings with the Red Sox leading 3-2. But the Orioles scored four times over the final two innings, leaving Lester with a no-decision.

Orioles: Olson avenged his only loss of the season by blanking the Yankees through seven innings in his last outing. The southpaw had never gotten through a start without allowing a run before, and he tied a career high by striking out seven batters. Olson wound up retiring 12 of the final 14 batters he faced and handing his bullpen a six-run lead.

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

Red Sox Batting History vs Olson

Player	AB	Hits	2b	3b	HR's	RBI	BB's	K's	BA	OBA	Slug	OPS
J. Ellsbury	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---	---
D. Pedroia	8	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.250	.333	2.50	.583
D. Ortiz	7	2	1	0	0	4	2	2	.286	.444	.429	.873
M. Ramirez	3	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	.333	.000	.333
M. Lowell	7	2	1	0	0	0	1	1	.286	.375	.429	.804
K. Youkilis	5	1	0	0	0	0	4	2	.200	.556	.200	.756
J. D. Drew	4	2	1	0	0	2	1	1	.500	.600	.750	1.350
J. Varitek	4	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	.250	.500	.250	.750
J. Lugo	8	4	1	0	0	3	0	0	.500	.500	.625	1.125
Totals	45	14	4	0	0	9	12	7	.311	.456	.400	.856

Actually pretty good stats vs Olson by the starters. After all any time a team is getting on base almost 50% of the time, you have a good chance of scoring some runs, and on this road trip, runs are at a premium.

Pitching Comparisions Career

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Lester	4	3	0	0	24	24	8	2	10	12	3.00	1.42	6.00
Olson	3	0	2	0	15 1/3	20	13	1	13	13	7.63	2.15	5.11

Lester actually does pretty good against the Orioles, including this year when he left after six innings with a 3-2 lead. The only worr is that 10/12 ratio of BB's to K's. Would like to see him get a better ratio in that category.

Olson on the other hand has never given up less than 4 runs in each of his three starts against the Sox. I like our chances against this guy, then again, I liked our chances vs Cabrera last night but the Sox struggled against him, but for some reason, I expect them to come out hitting vs Olson.

Pitching Comparisions this year

Pitcher	GS	W	L	Sho	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP	IP/GS
Lester	12	3	3	1	71	62	28	6	33	45	3.55	1.34	5.92
Olson	6	4	1	0	33	36	15	1	13	26	4.09	1.48	5.50

Olson has been pitching very well this year, but Lester actually has better numbers except for the home runs and the k/bb ratio. Still, if Lester can attack these hitters, then he should be able to outlast the O's. One other thing, Orioles are 5-7 vs left handers this year while the Sox are 6-2.

♊ - When all else fails, get a bigger hammer!