Results tagged ‘ Jon Lester ’
Middlebrooks is back in the lineup
Boston Red Sox prospect Will Middlerooks, who according to a CSNNE interview with GM Ben Cherington will not remain the starting third baseman when Kevin Youkilis returns, has been dealing with a tight left hamstring since the weekend and left Tuesday’s game in the second inning. He is back in the starting lineup on Wednesday. Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Sweeney also rejoin the Red Sox lineup after a couple days off. Jon Lester will take the mound for the Boston, which has won just one game this month.
Red Sox official lineup for May 4th
Middlebrooks moves up to second in the order, Dustin Pedroia will hit cleanup and Jon Lester is on the mound as the Boston Red Sox take on the Baltimore Orioles in the first of a three-game series. The game marks the start of a 20-game stretch without a day off for the Red Sox.
Red Sox to host Yankees for the final time during the regular season
The Boston Red Sox took two out of three games against the Oakland Athletics over the weekend. They played all three games in just two days at Fenway Park. On Friday night the Red Sox lost to the A’s, but Boston bounced back and swept the day-night doubleheader on a raining Saturday. The second game was originally scheduled for Sunday, but was moved up a day due to Hurricane Irene’s impending arrival. The hurricane gave the Red Sox an unusual two-day break with the scheduled day off on Monday.
The New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night and headed north for their final regular-season series at Fenway Park. Boston leads the AL East Division by 1.5 games over the Yankees, who have a 7.5 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the Wild Card race. The Red Sox, who have won 10 of 12 games in season series with New York, will host them for the third time this year.
David Ortiz recently recovered from heel bursitis and is swinging a hot bat for the Red Sox. Ortiz is batting .550 with three home runs, seven RBI and 1.771 OPS in five games played last week. Fellow All-Star Adrian Gonzalez has been producing on a similar level and earned the American League Player of the Week Award. Last week Gonzalez went 11-for-28 and powered Boston to a series win in Texas with five home runs at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
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Red Sox return home with key players back in action
The Boston Red Sox return to Fenway Park for the first time since the All-Star break. They won four games on the six-game road trip versus division opponents and increased their lead to two games over the New York Yankees.
On Wednesday afternoon the Red Sox concluded the road trip by shutting out the Baltimore Orioles, 4-0, taking two of the three games at Camden Yards. Andrew Miller pitched his best game in a Boston uniform, tossing five and 2/3 scoreless innings, and Jacoby Ellsbury went 2-for-4 with two RBI in the victory.
Before the All-Star break, a number of key players were dealing with health issues. The health of starting pitching staff was of most concern.
Josh Beckett, who had a sore knee before and during the All-Star game, showed no signs of any lingering problem as he shutout the Tampa Bay Rays for eight innings on Sunday night. Beckett’s performance led the Red Sox to a series win over Tampa Bay, taking two of the three games. He is scheduled to start again on Saturday night at Fenway. Jon Lester, who came out of the July 5 game with a shoulder injury and has not pitched since, is expected to start on Monday. Clay Buchholz has begun throwing again, but there is no timetable for his return from a back injury. Andrew Miller will continue to take Buchholz’s spot in the rotation and Kyle Weiland will likely be sent back down to Triple-A Pawtucket with the return of Lester.
Left fielder Carl Crawford missed a month with a hamstring injury. He returned to the Red Sox lineup for the Orioles series and went 4-for-12 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Josh Reddick picked up most of the playing time during Crawford’s absence. Reddick has hit .361 over the past month and given manager Terry Francona plenty of reasons to find playing time for him going forward.
David Ortiz will also be returning to action on Friday. Ortiz did not play in Baltimore due to his suspension. Ortiz and Orioles pitcher Kevin Gregg were given four-game suspensions for the brawl that took place during the series in Boston before the break. Each player appealed the suspension and had it reduced to three games to be served during the series in Baltimore.
After an off day on Thursday, the Red Sox will host the Seattle Mariners in a three-game series. Friday’s probable starting pitchers are John Lackey (7-8, 6.70) for Boston and reigning Cy Young Award winner Felix Hernandez (8-8, 3.26) for the Mariners.
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