Last night the Boston Red Sox returned home to the friendly confines of Fenway Park where they had won 9 straight games. At the end of last night’s game, the Cleveland Indians behind the strong pitching of Carl Pavano. With a 3-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays before the last west coast road trip of the season, the Red Sox will look to get a win and build up some momentum.
Tonight’s game will start at 7:10 PM and will be broadcast on NESN. In the Cleveland area, you can catch the game on STO. And if the television isn’t your cup of tea, you can catch the game on one of the many affiliates of the Red Sox Radio Network.
Tim Wakefield will start for the Red Sox tonight and looks to bounce back after a poor outing despite getting the win. On the season, Wakefield has been the Red Sox best pitcher and sports a 3-1 record with a 2.91 ERA. In 26 games (21 starts) against the Indians, Wake is 10-8 with a 4.28 ERA.
Just called up from the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, Jeremy Sowers will make the start for the Indians tonight. Sowers has made 3 career starts against the Red Sox and is 0-2 with a 5.94 ERA. His lone start at Fenway Park came last year in a 6-1 loss to the Red Sox. He gave up 5 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings in that game.
Obviously the big news of the day is the Manny Ramirez suspension. But there is some other non-Ramirez news related to the Red Sox.
If you hadn’t heard, the Red Sox have activated Rocco Baldelii from the 15-day disabled list and optioned Jonathan Van Every to Pawtucket. Baldelli is in the starting lineup, playing center field and batting 7th.
Banged up Sox expect to win [RedSox.com]
Sox pregame notes [Extra Bases]
Red Sox react to Ramirez’ suspension [Full Count]
Francona Mum on Manny Ramirez Charges [Projo Sox Blog]
Red Sox players react to Manny’s suspension [Projo Sox Blog]
At McCoy Stadium, Sox fans say, Good riddance, Manny — we’re not surprised. [Projo Sox Blog]
Sox on Manny [Extra Bases]
Just Manny being shady [Tony Massarotti Blog]
The Overly-Curious UnDoctor: PEDs [Center Field]
Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:
Lineup update: David Ortiz was scratched with a stiff neck. Julio Lugo will move to DH and Nick Green will play shortstop.
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| 1. Ben Francisco | CF | 1. Julio Lugo | DH |
| 2. Asdrubal Cabrera | SS | 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B |
| 3. Victor Martinez | C | 3. Jason Bay | LF |
| 4. Mark DeRosa | 3B | 4. Mike Lowell | 3B |
| 5. David Dellucci | DH | 5. Rocco Baldelli | CF |
| 6. Ryan Garko | 1B | 6. J.D. Drew | RF |
| 7. Jhonny Peralta | DH | 7. Jeff Bailey | RF |
| 8. Matt LaPorta | RF | 8. Nick Green | SS |
| 9. Luis Valbuena | 2B | 9. George Kottaras | C |
| Jeremy Sowers | SP | Tim Wakefield | SP |
11-17
17-11And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:
