Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 4/8

With the opening day in the books, the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays will do battle once again at Fenway Park tonight at 7:10 PM. The game will be broadcast on NESN and ESPN2 and can also be listened to on the Red Sox Radio Network.

The weather will be a little bit on the chilly side according to the forecast with temperature’s in the high 30’s to low 40’s.

Jon Lester will make the start for Terry Francona and the Red Sox tonight. Lester’s had some success against the Rays during the regular season as he is 4-0 with a 3.38 ERA in 7 starts. Three of those wins have come at Fenway Park in 5 starts. During the 2008 ALCS, Lester was 0-2 with a 4.97 ERA in two starts.

Joe Maddon will give the ball to the longest tenured member of his staff Scott Kazmir. In 21 starts against the Red Sox, Kazmir is 6-7 with a 3.62 ERA. He is 4-4 with a 3.02 ERA in 11 career Fenway starts.

Wilkerson surfaces [Extra Bases]

Rocco plays vs. Rays [Extra Bases]

Baldelli says no butterflies on eve of first start [Projo Sox Blog]

Mike Lowell joins Dennis & Callahan to talk about Opening Day, playing baseball while growing up and his book [WEEI]

Tito appears on D&H this morning for first live interview of 2009 season [WEEI]

All-Time Red Sox Starting Lineup [NESN.com]

Tim Wakefield of Boston Red Sox makes pitch for Greater Springfield YMCA [The Republican]

Red Sox’s Baldelli Revels in (and Braces for) His Homecoming [New York Times]

Red Sox injury update – plenty of frequent flyer miles for Lugo, Kotsay, Smoltz [Projo Sox Blog]

Here are the lineups for today’s game:

And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers.