Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Recap: The Houston Astros didn't have a lot of fun tonight

Can I go home now?  (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

How bad are the Houston Astros, you ask?  They made Ryan Dempster look like Clay Buchholz tonight as Boston cruised to an easy 7-3 victory.

The Red Sox had no trouble trouble at the plate or on the mound tonight.  Their 5 pitchers combined for 14 strike outs, and they amassed 17 hits and 4 home runs with their bats.

Dempster was awesome, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs over 6 innings with 10 K's.  Mortensen, Tazawa, Uehara, and Anderson finished off the game, allowing 3 hits and one run between them.  For Houston, the Sox made Erik Bedard throw 96 pitches in 3+ innings (!!!!!!), and not one at-bat ended in a walk.  Insanity.  They tagged him for 3 home runs as well.  Not going to be a happy evening in the Bedard household.

Everyone but Nava got a hit for Boston.  Papi and Gomes were the only batters to only get one hit.  Everyone else had two or three (or four, in the case of Ross).  All but 3 batters drove in a run.  It was that kind of night.  Two of Ross's 4 hits were solo shots.  Papi and Middlebrooks each had a home run as well.  Pedroia and Napoli had two doubles a piece.  Ciriaco had a triple.  Ellsbury swiped his 11th base. 

At least one team in Boston had some offense tonight. 

BOX SCORE

Recap: Buchholz leads way in win over Houston

Clay Buchholz became the first major league pitcher to reach five wins on the year, going 7 2/3 innings for the Sox in a 7-2 win over the University of Houston Astros tonight at Fenway.

Buchholz was sharp for the most part, yielding both runs early before settling in and mowing down Houston. He once again notched 10 strikeouts, and used just 119 pitches to get all the way into the 8th inning. His ERA climbed to 1.19 on the year. I guess we can handle that.

I wasn't wild about Farrell trotting him out there for the 8th. Buchholz has pitched more than 92 innings just twice in six professional seasons (five if you want to discount three appearances in 2007) and is pretty slight of build. He's also battled consistency issues. I'd rather not take the chance that he's going to wear down by June or July and either lose his effectiveness or get a little dead arm going.

Three points of note about this game:

1. The Red Sox offense jumped on Astros starter Phillip Humber, scoring four runs in the 1st. It's kind of an obvious statement, but I love when teams can get out and score early. The inning was also a testament to the lineup's depth, as Pedroia, Ortiz, Carp, and Salty all got RBIs in the effort.

2. David Ortiz continued his hot hitting with three hits, including his first homer of the year. Off the bat it didn't look like he got all of it, but it just kept carrying out to dead-center. Also worth mentioning that Papi was moving decently on the bases. He's still the slowest guy on the team -- maybe even slower than ex-pat Adrian Gonzalez -- but he wasn't grimacing or hobbling as badly as he has been.

3. Daniel Bard made his first appearance of the year and was perfectly adequate. He gave up on hit -- a hard-hit ball to right field -- but didn't let things get carried away and finished it off. You can't have a much more easy-going situation in the majors than a non-save situation at home against the Astros, so it's good to see him be able to settle in and just focus on pitching.

The Sox climb to 15-7 on the year and continue hosting the Astros Saturday with Felix Doubront on the bump.

Box score

Image

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

First Pitch: Thursday 6:35, Friday 7:10, Saturday 7:10, Sunday 1:35

Arms: Thursday: Philip Humber, RHP (0-4, 6.63 ERA)  vs. Clay Buchholz, RHP (4-0, 0.90 ERA)

Friday: Erik Bedard, LHP (0-1, 6.17 ERA) vs. Ryan Dempster, RHP (0-2, 3.38 ERA)  

Saturday: Brad Peacock, RHP (1-2, 7.50 ERA) vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (2-0, 4.32 ERA)

Sunday: Bud Norris, RHP (3-2, 4.13 ERA) vs. John Lackey, RHP (0-1, 4.15 ERA)

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

The Matchup

Record: 7-14 (Last AL West)	Record: 14-7 (1st AL East)
On road: 3-6	At home: 7-5
Streak: W2	Streak: W1
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Barnes (.367)	Average: Ortiz (.500)
Homers: Ankiel/Carter (5)	Homers: Middlebrooks (5)
RBI: Ankiel/Carter (11)	RBI: Napoli (26)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Norris (3)	Wins: Buchholz/Lester (4)
ERA: Harrell (4.08) | Cisnero/Fields (0.00)	ERA: Buchholz (0.90) | Wilson (0.00)
K's: Harrell (20)	K's: Dempster (33)

Last time

The last time these two teams met was July 1-3 of 2011 in Houston. The Sox swept the Astros to close out inter-league play in 2011. The Sox got wins from Dan Wheeler, Andrew Miller, and that Beckett guy. Many of the players on the roster at the time are no longer members of the team, so there is no point going through the in-depth analysis.

This time

Laser Show: Mike Napoli

Why not? He is hot at the plate and leading the league in RBI, while making everyone wish he had signed that initial 3-year deal. He is lovin' Fenway Park and expect the production to continue against the worst team in the AL.

Pitch Around: Jose Altuve

Altuve is in no way a power threat, although he is the only guy in Houston that can consistently put the bat on the ball. Expect a lot of singles from Jose in the series. There won't be many batters that will be able to knock him in, so there should be no worry if Altuve reaches base.

Don't Fall Behind: No One

The Houston Astros' starting pitching is horrendous. We will see our old friend that we hardly knew, Erik Bedard, who is stinking something fierce. The Sox should be able to jump all over this pitching staff and put up some big numbers.

How we see it goin' down

The Red Sox didn't look that great against the A's, though I don't see them having any struggles against Houston. The Astros are pretty bad leading to a 4-game sweep prediction in favor of the Red Sox. A 4-game sweep is very hard to do, but this series has that result written all over it. 

First Pitch: Thursday 6:35, Friday 7:10, Saturday 7:10, Sunday 1:35

Arms: Thursday: Philip Humber, RHP (0-4, 6.63 ERA)  vs. Clay Buchholz, RHP (4-0, 0.90 ERA)

Friday: Erik Bedard, LHP (0-1, 6.17 ERA) vs. Ryan Dempster, RHP (0-2, 3.38 ERA)  

Saturday: Brad Peacock, RHP (1-2, 7.50 ERA) vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (2-0, 4.32 ERA)

Sunday: Bud Norris, RHP (3-2, 4.13 ERA) vs. John Lackey, RHP (0-1, 4.15 ERA)

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

The Matchup

Record: 7-14 (Last AL West)	Record: 14-7 (1st AL East)
On road: 3-6	At home: 7-5
Streak: W2	Streak: W1
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Barnes (.367)	Average: Ortiz (.500)
Homers: Ankiel/Carter (5)	Homers: Middlebrooks (5)
RBI: Ankiel/Carter (11)	RBI: Napoli (26)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Norris (3)	Wins: Buchholz/Lester (4)
ERA: Harrell (4.08) | Cisnero/Fields (0.00)	ERA: Buchholz (0.90) | Wilson (0.00)
K's: Harrell (20)	K's: Dempster (33)

Last time

The last time these two teams met was July 1-3 of 2011 in Houston. The Sox swept the Astros to close out inter-league play in 2011. The Sox got wins from Dan Wheeler, Andrew Miller, and that Beckett guy. Many of the players on the roster at the time are no longer members of the team, so there is no point going through the in-depth analysis.

This time

Laser Show: Mike Napoli

Why not? He is hot at the plate and leading the league in RBI, while making everyone wish he had signed that initial 3-year deal. He is lovin' Fenway Park and expect the production to continue against the worst team in the AL.

Pitch Around: Jose Altuve

Altuve is in no way a power threat, although he is the only guy in Houston that can consistently put the bat on the ball. Expect a lot of singles from Jose in the series. There won't be many batters that will be able to knock him in, so there should be no worry if Altuve reaches base.

Don't Fall Behind: No One

The Houston Astros' starting pitching is horrendous. We will see our old friend that we hardly knew, Erik Bedard, who is stinking something fierce. The Sox should be able to jump all over this pitching staff and put up some big numbers.

How we see it goin' down

The Red Sox didn't look that great against the A's, though I don't see them having any struggles against Houston. The Astros are pretty bad leading to a 4-game sweep prediction in favor of the Red Sox. A 4-game sweep is very hard to do, but this series has that result written all over it. 

First Pitch: Thursday 6:35, Friday 7:10, Saturday 7:10, Sunday 1:35

Arms: Thursday: Philip Humber, RHP (0-4, 6.63 ERA)  vs. Clay Buchholz, RHP (4-0, 0.90 ERA)

Friday: Erik Bedard, LHP (0-1, 6.17 ERA) vs. Ryan Dempster, RHP (0-2, 3.38 ERA)  

Saturday: Brad Peacock, RHP (1-2, 7.50 ERA) vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (2-0, 4.32 ERA)

Sunday: Bud Norris, RHP (3-2, 4.13 ERA) vs. John Lackey, RHP (0-1, 4.15 ERA)

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

The Matchup

Record: 7-14 (Last AL West)	Record: 14-7 (1st AL East)
On road: 3-6	At home: 7-5
Streak: W2	Streak: W1
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Barnes (.367)	Average: Ortiz (.500)
Homers: Ankiel/Carter (5)	Homers: Middlebrooks (5)
RBI: Ankiel/Carter (11)	RBI: Napoli (26)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Norris (3)	Wins: Buchholz/Lester (4)
ERA: Harrell (4.08) | Cisnero/Fields (0.00)	ERA: Buchholz (0.90) | Wilson (0.00)
K's: Harrell (20)	K's: Dempster (33)

Last time

The last time these two teams met was July 1-3 of 2011 in Houston. The Sox swept the Astros to close out inter-league play in 2011. The Sox got wins from Dan Wheeler, Andrew Miller, and that Beckett guy. Many of the players on the roster at the time are no longer members of the team, so there is no point going through the in-depth analysis.

This time

Laser Show: Mike Napoli

Why not? He is hot at the plate and leading the league in RBI, while making everyone wish he had signed that initial 3-year deal. He is lovin' Fenway Park and expect the production to continue against the worst team in the AL.

Pitch Around: Jose Altuve

Altuve is in no way a power threat, although he is the only guy in Houston that can consistently put the bat on the ball. Expect a lot of singles from Jose in the series. There won't be many batters that will be able to knock him in, so there should be no worry if Altuve reaches base.

Don't Fall Behind: No One

The Houston Astros' starting pitching is horrendous. We will see our old friend that we hardly knew, Erik Bedard, who is stinking something fierce. The Sox should be able to jump all over this pitching staff and put up some big numbers.

How we see it goin' down

The Red Sox didn't look that great against the A's, though I don't see them having any struggles against Houston. The Astros are pretty bad leading to a 4-game sweep prediction in favor of the Red Sox. A 4-game sweep is very hard to do, but this series has that result written all over it. 

First Pitch: Thursday 6:35, Friday 7:10, Saturday 7:10, Sunday 1:35

Arms: Thursday: Philip Humber, RHP (0-4, 6.63 ERA)  vs. Clay Buchholz, RHP (4-0, 0.90 ERA)

Friday: Erik Bedard, LHP (0-1, 6.17 ERA) vs. Ryan Dempster, RHP (0-2, 3.38 ERA)  

Saturday: Brad Peacock, RHP (1-2, 7.50 ERA) vs. Felix Doubront, LHP (2-0, 4.32 ERA)

Sunday: Bud Norris, RHP (3-2, 4.13 ERA) vs. John Lackey, RHP (0-1, 4.15 ERA)

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

The Matchup

Record: 7-14 (Last AL West)	Record: 14-7 (1st AL East)
On road: 3-6	At home: 7-5
Streak: W2	Streak: W1
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Barnes (.367)	Average: Ortiz (.500)
Homers: Ankiel/Carter (5)	Homers: Middlebrooks (5)
RBI: Ankiel/Carter (11)	RBI: Napoli (26)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Norris (3)	Wins: Buchholz/Lester (4)
ERA: Harrell (4.08) | Cisnero/Fields (0.00)	ERA: Buchholz (0.90) | Wilson (0.00)
K's: Harrell (20)	K's: Dempster (33)

Last time

The last time these two teams met was July 1-3 of 2011 in Houston. The Sox swept the Astros to close out inter-league play in 2011. The Sox got wins from Dan Wheeler, Andrew Miller, and that Beckett guy. Many of the players on the roster at the time are no longer members of the team, so there is no point going through the in-depth analysis.

This time

Laser Show: Mike Napoli

Why not? He is hot at the plate and leading the league in RBI, while making everyone wish he had signed that initial 3-year deal. He is lovin' Fenway Park and expect the production to continue against the worst team in the AL.

Pitch Around: Jose Altuve

Altuve is in no way a power threat, although he is the only guy in Houston that can consistently put the bat on the ball. Expect a lot of singles from Jose in the series. There won't be many batters that will be able to knock him in, so there should be no worry if Altuve reaches base.

Don't Fall Behind: No One

The Houston Astros' starting pitching is horrendous. We will see our old friend that we hardly knew, Erik Bedard, who is stinking something fierce. The Sox should be able to jump all over this pitching staff and put up some big numbers.

How we see it goin' down

The Red Sox didn't look that great against the A's, though I don't see them having any struggles against Houston. The Astros are pretty bad leading to a 4-game sweep prediction in favor of the Red Sox. A 4-game sweep is very hard to do, but this series has that result written all over it. 

Your Morning Dump...where Lowrie may be better player but Punto is a better fit

Every morning, well most mornings and sometimes in the afternoon, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The Red Sox have signed veteran utilityman Nick Punto to a two-year contract, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.

Heyman reported Punto, who turned 34 in November, is guaranteed $3 million with another $500,000 possible in incentives. The Red Sox had a vacancy for a utility player with this morning's trade of Jed Lowrie to the Astros.

Punto played 66 games for the champion Cardinals last year, hitting .278 with an .809 OPS in 166 plate appearances. He played 45 games at second base while also seeing time at shortstop and third base.

During his 11-year career, Punto has played for the Phillies (2001-03), Twins (2004-10) and Cardinals. A lifetime .249 hitter with a .652 OPS and 14 home runs in 887 career games. 

Globe:Sox sign Nick Punto

This signing makes the Melancon trade much more understandable. Seeing Jed Lowrie in this trade was a bit of a shock considering that the Red Sox balked at the thought of adding him in a bigger deal. Lowrie is a good bat, particularly against right-handed batters, but he just couldn't stay healthy. Punto isn't coming to replace Lowrie's bat, as he's a career .249 hitter, but he is a solid defender at second base, shortstop, and third base.

Lowrie still has a chance to put it all together in Houston and become a .300 hitter and maybe even have 20 home runs. I hope he does too. He was never going to get a legitmate shot at shortstop here in Boston as Scu-Scu-Scutaro was one of the few people that had a good September (.387 BA, 21 RBI) and Jose Iglesias has been poised to take it after Scutaro's contract runs out. This avoids the inevitable "Lowrie wants more playing time" article that would've come out in June, an issue the Sox don't need to deal with.

Punto will give the Sox the supersub they have been missing since they let Alex Cora go. He knows his role and is just fine waiting on the bench until his name gets called. Plus he's supposed to be a good clubhouse guy, and lord knows we need a few of those right about now.

So Lowrie gets his chance to play, the Sox replace him with the utility player they sorely needed. Everybody wins.

Rest of the links: Globe:Sox acquire Melancon from Astros for Lowrie, Weiland|Sox sign Nick Punto|Herald:Sox find relief in Melancon|Red Sox deal signals change|Punto fields a contract|CSNNE:Swing and a miss|Sox sign Punto to replace Lowrie|Varitek, Wakefield to Cubs?|WEEI:Mills on Melancon: has the stuff to close in AL East|Sox sign Punto to two year, $3 million deal

Your Morning Dump... Where there's a little more managerial drama

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

New Astros owner Jim Crane fired team president Tal Smith and general manager Ed Wade this evening.

New team president and chief executive officer George Postolos issued a statement saying, "With the change in ownership, we would like a fresh start in baseball operations.”

You have to wonder what that means for manager Brad Mills, who is 132-192 in two seasons. The Astros lost 106 games in 2011. A new GM and a new owner usually means a new manager, too.

If Mills is next to go, would the Red Sox consider him as their manager? It seems unlikely.

Although Mills was widely respected during his five years as Terry Francona's bench coach, hiring somebody so closely aligned to the former manager wouldn't seem to make much sense.

Boston Globe - Could changes in Houston affect Red Sox?

It's a pretty slow news day for the Sox, so we're left to play a little game of 'what if?'.

Any interest the Sox may have in Brad Mills is purely speculation at this point.  We do know he was a great bench coach while he was here.  And that the Sox were looking to at least interview some current-managers for their opening, but were denied.  It's possible that Mills was on that list.

This also coincides with ESPN's Gordon Edes reporting that neither Valentine nor Lamont have received an offer from the Red Sox.  Is it possible that the Sox are delaying their decision to see how the Mills situation plays out?  Possible, yes.  But incredibly unlikely.

Unless the Sox are 100% certain that Mills is their guy (and, again, they haven't even interviewed him yet) they could be waiting a looooong time for him to become available.  If he ever does get fired.  Mills future most likely won't be decided until after the Astros settle on a new GM.  That's usually how these things play out.  New GM is in place, then the new GM decides whether they want to make a manager change. 

Again, unless the Sox aren't sold on either Valentine or Lamont, and are 100% certain that Mills is the right guy, this is a silly conversation to be having.

In conclusion, I have wasted the past 5 minutes of your day.  But it's not my fault.  I blame Society.  And Pete Abe.  But mostly Pete Abe.  He's the one that threw that half-baked theory out there.  I just ran with it.

Rest of the links:

ESPN - No Red Sox offer for Bobby Valentine yet | Words of caution regarding Bobby V | Herald - In MLB, experience wanted | WEEI - Reports: A's hire PawSox hitting coach Davis

Baseball playoffs are expanding

Lots of significant announcements were made in the world of Major League Baseball today.

First, MLB owners have approved the sale of the Houston Astros to Jim Crane for $615,000,000.  That is a discount from the $680 million they were supposed to be sold for because Crane is packing up his Astros and taking them to the American League West, starting in 2013.  Now both leagues will have fifteen teams.

Owners also approved San Francisco Giants plan to replace Bill Neukom with Larry Baer as the team's controlling owner.  Also, we're making some progress on a new collective bargaining agreement (the current deal expires Dec. 11).  Apparently you CAN start hammering out some of these details before the expiration date.  I was under a completely different impression. Hm.

But the most important announcement of all revolves around the playoffs.

Take it away, SI.com:

Commissioner Bud Selig said owners also approved two additional wild-card teams for the postseason, meaning 10 of the 30 teams make the playoffs. Selig said he hopes the expanded playoffs can start next year, but he said the specifics are being worked out. The players' association favors the move.

"You do things for a long period of time. The addition will really help us in the long run," Selig said.

This move is tailor-made to ensure both the Yankees and Red Sox find themselves in the postseason every year.  Yankees + Red Sox + Playoffs = $$$.

Plus, it gives some of those other upstart, underdog teams and fans a sliver of hope that they too could eek into the postseason.  It's a big change, but I think it's a good one for the sport.

The downside is that it eliminates most of the drama in September.  Could you imagine if this was in place last year, and neither the Sox or Tampa would have had to win their finals games to make it into the post season?  The Globe's hit piece may have never been written.  Tito might still have a job.  Epstein may have never left (although he probably would have).  Maybe Papelbon re-signs.  Everything could have been wildly different.

So this is by no means an insignificant change.  But for the people in places like Oakland and Minnesota, this is a great thing.   It just makes sense.

Recap: That's more like it

Yeah, this picture is pretty bad-ass! (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

The Boston Red Sox actually won a game.  I mean, outright won it.  No comebacks or clinging to a lead.  Just a solid effort from a 3-run 1st to a 4-run 8th.  It was a 10-4 beating that you'd expect them to give a team like the Houston Astros.

Andrew Miller was solid again.  He gave up 7 hits and walked 2 over 6 innings (while only striking out 3 batters), but Houston could only muster 2 runs from their 9 base-runners.  A better team is probably going to cross the plate a few more times given those opportunities, but what's 3 or 4 runs when the offense scores 10?

Right-Fielder Adrian Gonzalez had a nice game - going 3-5 with 3 runs and getting his 74th RBI. Also going 3-5 in the game: Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia (who each had a run and an RBI of their own).  Darnell McDonald went his usual 1-4, but that one was a doozy - a 3 run homer in the 8th.   Even Yamaico Navarro wanted in on the fun, hitting a pinch-hit home run in his first at-bat of the year.

Tomorrow Beckett faces the 0-3 Jordan Lyles (who sounds like he should be a country singer and not a major league pitcher).  So hopefully Josh will get back on track.

BOX SCORE

Recap: We're going streaking!

The Red Sox have won two in a row with a 7-5 win over the Astros. This one looked terrible until the Sox scored 6 runs in the 7th inning. Going into the 7th, the Sox were down 5-1, then the offense finally woke up. In the 7th, Josh Reddick and Drew Sutton each drove in a run to make it 5-3. Pedey hit a single into right field to drive in 2, then Gonzo hit a wall ball double a few minutes later to drive in another 2, to make it 7-5.

Josh Reddick was the only Red Sox to record a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4, with a double and RBI. Reddick is now batting .450 this season.

Marco Scutaro hit a solo shot to begin the game, then went 0-for-4 the rest of the game. He was placed in the lead-off spot as Ellsbury was scratched at the last minute due to an illness. The lineup was shuffled a bit, with Reddick moving to center, and Sutton playing left.

Tim Wakefield had a very tough night, giving up 11 hits, 5 runs, and 0 strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings. He did escape the loss with the Sox explosion in the 7th.  The Sox did have to use 5 pitchers out of the bullpen in this one, with Wheeler getting the win, and Papelbon getting his 16th save.

The damn Yankees won again, so the Sox still sit 2.5 games back in the East.

Box Score

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

First Pitch: Friday 8:05, Saturday 7:05, Sunday 2:05

Arms: Friday: Tim Wakefield, RHP (4-3, 4.54 ERA) vs. Bud Norris, RHP (4-6, 3.36 ERA)

Saturday: Andrew Miller, LHP (1-0, 3.09 ERA) vs. J.A. Happ, LHP (3-9, 5.54 ERA)

Sunday: Josh Beckett, RHP (6-3, 2.20 ERA)  vs. Jordan Lyles, RHP (0-3, 4.75 ERA)

Yard: Minute Maid Park   Watch it:  NESN  Hear it:  WEEI

Get your tickets here

The Matchup

Record: 46-34 (2nd AL East)	Record: 29-53 (Last NL Central)
On road: 24-18	At home: 14-30
Streak: Won 1	Streak: Won 1
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Gonzalez (.352)	Average: Pence (.315)
Homers: Ortiz (17)	Homers: Pence (9)
RBI: Gonzalez (71)	RBI: Pence (53)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Lester (10)	Wins: Rodriguez (6)
ERA: Beckett (2.20) | Bard (2.33)	ERA: Rodriguez (2.97) | Escalona (2.08)
K's: Lester (105)	K's: Norris (100)

Last time

The Red Sox and Astros last played each other on June 27th - 29th, 2008. The outcome to that series was opposite of what the Sox are hoping for this weekend. The Sox took game 1 of that series, 6-1, then dropped the next 2, 11-10 and 3-2. That Astros team was a little better than the one this season, but the Sox were better, they just didn't play that way. Please...no repeat of this!

This time

Laser Show: Adrian Gonzalez, Dustin Pedroia, & Josh Reddick

Gonzo did have once of his worst series of the season, and again, there should be no concern surrounding that. His .352 average and 1.000 OPS is enough to believe that he will bounce back against the Astros.

Pedey also had a tough series, but did homer in his last at-bat of the series. He has been on an incline in performance at the plate and should win some battles against below average pitchers.

And then there is Josh Reddick, the hottest batter on the team. Reddick has stepped up his game this season with a .444 batting average, and an OPS of 1.198. Reddick is batting .364 with runners in scoring position, and is batting .714 against lefties. Take that J.D.!

Pitch Around: Hunter Pence

The only power threat in the Astros' lineup. Overall, Pence is hitting the ball well, but his power has declined as of late.  His team leading 9 home runs are nothing to worry about and he hasn't hit one since June 14th and has only 10 RBI in June. This is a complete 180 from the last preview, where Ryan Howard was in this category.  Pitch to Hunter Pence, just don't let him produce any runs...obviously.  I am not going to under-estimate this team, they can hit (7th in MLB in hits), and they can win playing small ball.

Don't Fall Behind: Bud Norris

Bud Norris is the best pitcher in this series and making for a good situation for Boston. His 3.36 ERA is pretty good and he Norris does have a good mid-90's fastball but does not get much run support. Let's make that happen.

How we see it goin' down

This is the perfect situation for the Sox to get back on track. Houston is the worst team in the majors and the Sox can do some serious damage if they can carry over the offense from game 3 of the Phillies series. The Red Sox will sweep the Astros to begin the series of punching bags. I can't wait to get back to AL ball.