After falling last night 7-4, the Boston Red Sox look to take the middle game of a three-game set this afternoon against the Washington Nationals at Historic Fenway Park.
First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Nationals television market, you can catch the game on MASN. And if you don’t live in either market, MLB Network will have coverage of the game (not in Red Sox or Nationals television markets). If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.
Daisuke Matsuzaka returns to the Fenway bump almost one year to the day of undergoing Tommy John surgery. He made eight appearances (seven starts) in 2011 and was 3-3 with a 5.30 ERA. He has not faced the Nationals in his career.
Gio Gonzalez looks to keep the Nationals in first place in the NL East in his 12th start of the season. In his previous 11 starts, Gonzalez is 7-2 with a 2.31 ERA. He made two starts against the local nine in 2011 as a member of the Oakland A’s. In those two starts, he was 1-1 with a 6.17 ERA (8 ER/11.2 IP). Overall in his career, he’s made five starts against the Red Sox (all with the A’s) and is 2-1 with a 5.79 ERA. In three starts at the Fens, he is 1-0 with a 5.63 ERA.
Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the overnight and day if you’re on the home page.
Here are today’s lineups:
 33-23 |
 29-29 |
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| 1. Steve Lombardozzi | LF | 1. Daniel Nava | LF |
| 2. Bryce Harper | RF | 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B |
| 3. Ryan Zimmerman | 3B | 3. Adrian Gonzalez | RF |
| 4. Adam LaRoche | 1B | 4. David Ortiz | DH |
| 5. Michael Morse | DH | 5. Kevin Youkilis | 1B |
| 6. Ian Desmond | SS | 6. Will Middlebrooks | 3B |
| 7. Danny Espinosa | 2B | 7. Mike Aviles | SS |
| 8. Rick Ankiel | CF | 8. Darnell McDonald | CF |
| 9. Jesus Flores | C | 9. Kelly Shoppach | C |
| Gio Gonzalez | SP | Daisuke Matsuzaka | SP |
And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:
NOTES:
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The Baseball Show: Will Lester become a true ace? [CSN New England]
The Baseball Show: How is Bard handling being sent down to minors? [CSN New England]
Red Sox notes: Dice-K, Byrd, Ellsbury, Crawford [CSN New England]
Gio: ‘It was exciting’ to be wanted by Sox [ESPN Boston]
Valentine: Byrd ‘saved the day’ [ESPN Boston]
How Many Games Will Daisuke Matsuzaka Win This Season? [NESN.com]
Bryce Harper, Adrian Gonzalez Both Hot Coming Into Red Sox-Nationals Rematch [NESN.com]
Dice-K returns to Fenway stage as Sox host Nats [RedSox.com]
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photo credits: Getty Images, Getty Images
