First Pitch: Thursday 7:10, Friday 7:10, Saturday 7:10, Sunday 1:35
Arms: Thursday: LHP Jon Lester (5-8, 5.49 ERA) vs. RHP Sam Deduno (2-0, 3.13 ERA)
Friday: LHP Felix Doubront (10-5, 4.37 ERA) vs. RHP Brian Duensing (2-6, 4.53 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Clay Buchholz (9-3, 4.75 ERA) vs. RHP Cole De Vries (2-2, 3.98 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Josh Beckett (5-9, 4.54 ERA) vs. RHP Nick Blackburn (4-6, 7.43 ERA)
Yard: Fenway Park Watch it: NESN Hear it: WEEI
The Matchup
| Record: 53-52 (4th in the AL East) | Record: 44-60 (4th in the AL Central) |
| On road: 26-23 |
At home: 23-32 |
| Streak: Lost 1 |
Streak: Lost 2 |
| Leaders at the plate |
Leaders at the plate |
| Average: Ortiz (.316) |
Average: Mauer (.321) |
| Homers: Ortiz (23) |
Homers: Willingham (27) |
| RBI: Gonzalez (62) |
RBI: Willingham (79) |
| Leaders on the mound |
Leaders on the mound |
| Wins: Doubront (10) |
Wins: Diamond (9) |
| ERA: Doubront (4.37) | Atchison (1.76) |
ERA: Diamond (2.93) | Burton (2.36) |
| K's: Doubront (113) |
K's: Diamond (59) |
Last time
The Sox last played the Twins all the way back in late April, when Boston didn't totally hate the Red Sox. The Sox swept Minnesota in three games, with Daniel Bard, Josh Beckett, and Clay Buchholz all getting wins. It was the beginning of a six-game winning streak, the best the Sox have had this season.
This time
Laser Show: Adrian Gonzalez
Don't Fall Behind: Sam Deduno
I won't pretend to know anything about Deduno, but the Sox need to get off to a good start to the series. Playing bad teams always worries me -- seems like there's an elevated chance of a lack of motivation, already arguably an issue for this team. If they can get to Deduno early, they can hopefully keep the bats hot throughout the series.
How we see it goin' down
I've been doing my usual fantasy football prep with Football Outsiders Almanac, and one of their repeated points is that good teams don't just squeak out wins against good opponents -- they dominate bad teams. (I believe this observation is based on baseball stat work, but don't really remember and don't feel like Googling.) This series could be a good indicator of whether the Sox will continue their winning ways throughout the rest of the season, or whether their recent successes against the Yankees and Tigers were aberrations. Call me a homer, but I think the Sox take three of four and carry some momentum into the Rangers series.
