My apologies for not getting to the morning roundup for the Boston Red Sox news & notes as Mother’s Day festivities precluded me from getting on the computer until this afternoon.
After getting their butts handed to them yesterday afternoon by the Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox will try to do something that they haven’t done in a long time and that’s take a series from the Rays.
Tonight’s game will start at 8:05 PM and the game will be televised on ESPN and ESPNHD. Also, if you’re internet service provider gives you access to ESPN360, you can watch the game online. 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.
In order to take the series, the Red Sox will need Josh Beckett to become Commander KickA$$ of the KickA$$ Brigade again. Beckett is 1-1 this season with a 6.17 ERA in 2 starts against the Rays this season and is 6-4 with a 3.56 ERA in 12 career starts. Tonight marks the 200th start (203 appearances) of Beckett’s career and it is 97th in a Red Sox uniform.
Standing in the way of the Red Sox tonight is their nemesis on the mound in Matt Garza. He has completely owned the Red Sox in his career going 5-1 with 2.85 ERA in 8 starts and holding to the Red Sox to a .202 batting average (35-for-173) over that span. This season, he is 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA and has held the Red Sox to a .102 batting average (5-for-49).
The Red Sox did make a roster move today as they have called up Daniel Bard from Triple-A Pawtucket. To make room on the 25-man and 40-man rosters, they have designated Javier Lopez for assignment.
Red Sox gear up for tough Garza [RedSox.com]
The Daniel Bard Era begins [Full Count]
Daniel Bard up; Javy Lopez out [Extra Bases]
Merloni: Sox never encouraged steroid use [Extra Bases]
Bad defense or bad luck for the Sox? [Full Count]
Bard ready for his next challenge — the big leagues[Projo Sox Blog]
Sox, Lugo walk the line [Tony Massarotti Blog]
Mother’s Day Fashion Statements [Full Count]
O’Leary creating baseball reality show [RedSox.com]
FOX hates the Boston Red Sox [Batter-up with Bruno]
Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:
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| 1. B.J. Upton | CF | 1. Jacoby Ellsbury | CF |
| 2. Carl Crawford | LF | 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B |
| 3. Evan Longoria | 3B | 3. David Ortiz | DH |
| 4. Pat Burrell | DH | 4. Jason Bay | LF |
| 5. Willy Aybar | 1B | 5. Mike Lowell | 3B |
| 6. Ben Zobrist | RF | 6. J.D. Drew | RF |
| 7. Akinori Iwamura | 2B | 7. Jeff Bailey | 1B |
| 8. Jason Bartlett | 2B | 8. Jason Varitek | C |
| 9. Dioner Navarro | C | 9. Nick Green | SS |
| Matt Garza | SP | Josh Beckett | SP |
15-17
19-12And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:
