Daisuke Matsuzaka looks for his 8th consecutive victory tonight.
Update 7:39 PM: Daisuke Matsuzaka has been scratched from tonight’s start and David Pauley will now start for the Red Sox if the game is played.
If the weather cooperates tonight, the Boston Red Sox will take on the New York Yankees in a series that means absolutely nothing. Now how many times can we say that.
The Yankees will be playing for pride while the Red Sox will getting their ducks in order for the postseason. The AL East title is still within reach, a long reach if the Sox can win all 3 games against the Yanks and the Rays get swept by the Tigers.
We can probably expect these games this weekend to bear a resemblance to spring training games as Terry Francona looks to keep everyone fresh for the playoffs. That means we can probably expect tonight’s starter Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett to be limited in their pitch counts.
Dice-K goes in search of his 8th consecutive win tonight and quite possibly his 19th of the season. He has faced the Yankees once this season and is 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA. He has faced the Yankees 5 times in his career and is 3-1 with a 6.30 ERA. In 3 starts at Fenway Park against the Yankees, he is 2-0 with a 6.11 ERA.
Alfredo Aceves makes his 6th appearance and 4th start for the Yankees in his rookie campaign. He is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA. He is the 13th different starter used by the Yankees this season.
As you might expect with the rain being in the forecast and the area, the Red Sox have canceled tonight’s number retiring ceremony for Johnny Pesky and moved it to Sunday at 1:15.
Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says the next update on the weather forecast will be at 6:00 PM.
Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal has some notes about J.D. Drew’s latest visit to the hospital for tests on his back.
Dan over at Red Sox Monster told us recently about Big Papi putting his bed up for auction. Now he tells us that it wasn’t as popular as everyone thought.
Gary Marbry of WEEI.com has his Friday nuggetpalooza.
Lineups and batter/pitcher matchups after the jump.
87-71
1. Johnny Damon, LF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Jason Giambi, 1B
6. Xavier Nady, DH
7. Robinson Cano, 2B
8. Chad Moeller, C
9. Brett Gardner, CF
– Alfredo Aceves, SP
94-65
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Jed Lowrie, SS
3. Mike Lowell, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. Mark Kotsay, RF
6. Jason Bay, LF
7. Sean Casey, 1B
8. Kevin Cash, C
9. Gil Velazquez, 2B
– Daisuke Matsuzaka David Pauley, SP
And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers. No one on the Red Sox has faced Aceves.
