Red Sox 2008 Game 114 Preview

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J. Beckett		9-8, 4.15		B. Bannister		7-9, 5.33
Red Sox		64-49		Royals		53-60

Tuesday, August 5      Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium  ✠ 8:10 p.m. ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	1 R W	1 R L	X W	X L
Tampa	66	45	-	7-3	20	11	61	50
Boston	64	49	3.0	4-6	16	18	66	47
New York	61	51	5.5	4-6	20	13	61	51
Toronto	56	56	10.5	5-5	16	24	60	52
Baltimore	53	58	13.0	5-5	19	21	54	57

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

Red Sox: Beckett wasn't his sharpest in his last outing against the Angels at Fenway Park, but he certainly fell victim to a flat performance from his team. The Sox dropped a 9-2 decision and suffered yet another sweep to the Halos as Beckett allowed eight runs (seven earned) on 11 hits in just 5 1/3 innings. He'll look to bounce back against the Royals, a team he's yet to face this season but is 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA against lifetime.

Royals: Bannister rang up a lot of pitches, 111, in just five innings last Wednesday at Oakland. He allowed eight hits, walked four and struck out seven, matching his career high in Ks. Despite all that, the A's got just two runs and Bannister emerged with no decision. He's in a prolonged drought, not having a victory since June 23 -- six starts ago. Bannister faced Boston on May 22 at Fenway Park and was banged for seven runs on 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Baseball Reference stats can be found here.

♊ - Well, let's hope we get some funny hats too.

Red Sox 2008 Game 113 Recap

Well that game kind of sucked. Clay started well, but the third came up and bit him in the butt. After a seeing eye grounder past Pedroia there was a hard ground ball that ate Lowry up and it was suddenly 4-2 for the Royals. Still, I think we should focus on the positives.


He left the bases loaded thereby minimizing the damage to those three runs. He then pitched three more shut out innings. Though it was not a quality start, it was a good start. One step forward last night, he just needs to take another step forward on his next start. I have high hopes for the kid and I truly feel like he will continue to take the steps forward.

Red Sox 2008 Game 113 Preview

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C. Buchholz		2-6, 5.94		G. Meche		9-9, 4.22
Red Sox		64-48		Royals		52-60

Monday, August 4      Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium  ✠ 8:10 p.m. ET

American League

East	W	L	GB	L 10	1 R W	1 R L	X W	X L
Tampa	66	44	-	7-3	20	11	60	50
Boston	64	48	3.0	5-5	15	17	66	46
New York	61	50	5.5	5-5	20	13	61	50
Toronto	55	56	11.5	5-5	16	24	59	52
Baltimore	53	57	13.0	5-5	19	20	53	57

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

Red Sox: Talk about a trip down memory lane that's a bit more bitter this time around. Buchholz watched John Lackey come within two outs of a no-hitter at Fenway Park on Tuesday, less than one year after Buchholz completed a no-no in his second career start. Buchholz showed innings where he looked strong, but fell victim to back-to-back two-run frames in the third and fourth in a 6-2 loss to the Angels. He'll look to earn his first win since May 2 against the Royals on the road. Buchholz is 0-4 in his last four decisions, including three losses in four starts since returning to the rotation in mid-July.

Royals: Meche picked up his third straight victory, all since the All-Star break, on Tuesday night at Oakland. He used an aggressive attack, working inside with his fastball and cutter, thus discouraging batters to sit on his effective breaking ball. He's gone seven innings in each of his last two wins with good economy, throwing 100 and 101 pitches with a total of just three walks. At Boston on May 20, Meche pitched well and held the Red Sox to two runs in seven innings, but he lost, 2-1. He's 4-2 against the Sox in his career.

I think that I will skip the time consuming breakdowns of pitchers and hitters for the games. To be honest with you, I feel a little behind and am tired of being called a mouth breathing racist bastard and since no one seems to really care but me about that stuff well, why post it here. However, if you want a good breakdown be sure and visit Baseball-reference.com.

♊ - Well, let's hope we get some funny hats too.