How we see it goin' down: Sox - Sox series

First Pitch: Monday 7:10, Tuesday 7:10, Wednesday 7:10, Thursday 7:10

Arms: Monday: Dylan Axelrod, RHP (1-2, 6.16 ERA) vs. Aaron Cook, RHP (2-2, 4.37 ERA)

Tuesday: Philip Humber, RHP (3-4, 6.01 ERA) vs. Jon Lester,  LHP (5-6, 4.49 ERA)

Wednesday: Jose Quintana, LHP (4-1, 2.60 ERA) vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (9-4, 4.41 ERA)

Thursday: Jake Peavy, RHP (7-6, 3.12 ERA) vs. Franklin Morales, LHP (2-2, 3.16 ERA)

                                          Yard: Fenway Park   Watch it: NESN  Hear it:  WEEI

The Matchup

Record: 49-39 (1st AL Central)	Record: 45-44 (T-last AL East)
On road: 25-17	At home: 22-24
Streak: Won 1	Streak: Won 1
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Danks (.364)	Average: Ortiz (.315)
Homers: Dunn (28)	Homers: Ortiz (23)
RBI: Dunn (65)	RBI: Ortiz (58)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Sale (11)	Wins: Doubront (9)
ERA: Sale (2.11) | Septimo (1.93)	ERA: Morales (3.16) | Tazawa (0.00)
K's: Peavy (113)	K's: Doubront (97)

Last time

The Red Sox dominated the other Sox in late April in Chicago. The Red Sox got off to a hot start winning the first two games by identical scores, 10-3. Youk homered for the good guys in the first game accompanied by a pair homers from Salty. David Ortiz and former Sox' outfielder Darnell McDonald homered in the second 10-3 win. Jon Lester won the pitchers duel opposed by Jake Peavy in game 3 with a 1-0 shutout. A Gonzalez RBI single was the only difference in that game. Chicago salvaged the final game with a 4-1 win. Adam Dunn's 2-run homer was all Chicago needed to spare some dignity.

This time

Laser Show: David Ortiz & Adrian Gonzalez

David Ortiz is as consistent as anyone can be. All aspects of his game are firing on all cylinders, creating skid marks on the tighty whities of the opposing pitchers.

Adrian Gonzalez assured us the back is not an issue, by going 2-for-4 yesterday. Gonzo needs to take advantage of the rest and make the middle of the lineup intimidating again.

Pitch Around: Adam Dunn, A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, & Kevin Youkilis

Adam Dunn is a huge home run threat, but he strikes out A LOT! Don't let him work 3-ball counts, because you can count on the ball landing in or over the bullpens.

Konerko and Pierzynski are just great overall hitters., hitting for average and power. Konerko has the advantage in the average column. Add in a rejuvenated Kevin Youkilis who will likely have overwhelming success against the Sox because that's just how things work, resulting in a great potential for big numbers for the bleached Sox.

Don't Fall Behind: Jose Quintana & Jake Peavy

Jose Quintana is a young pitcher in his first year in the majors that not many people know much about. Same goes for opposing hitters. Quintana has started his major league career hot and the Red Sox better do their homework before another young pitcher gets the best of them. Here is a quick scouting report. Quintana is a 23-year-old lefty who throws high 80's - low 90's fastballs. He is not a big strikeout pitcher, averaging 4 K's per outing. Mostly reliant on the fastball, Quintana gets near equal amounts of fly-ball and ground-ball outs. What does this mean? If the Sox are on point, they will drive him from the game early.

The Red Sox beat Peavy in their last meeting, but he was still great. He IS a big strikeout pitcher and the Sox could be in for a repeat performance. 

As for Phil Humber, I don't think the Sox have to worry about him. It's not like he has done anything impressive this season that should be noted.

How we see it goin' down

The White Sox are much better than the last time these two team met and the Red Sox have not changed at all. This series has disappointment written all over it, as did the Rays series, and they proved us wrong. Boston's offense will be close to complete with the return of Crawford tonight, and they have to jump on every mistake made by Chicago. Pitching has to be in top form as well. I have a lot of confidence in this team and I should go with a series split, but I feel a 3-1 series win for the Red Sox.