BALTIMORE - AUGUST 20: Clay Buchholz #61 of the Boston Red Sox pitches against the Baltimore Orioles August 20, 2008 at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

The Boston Red Sox return to action tonight after being off since Sunday’s win over the Kansas City Royals. The local nine is on a 6-game road trip that starts with three games in Toronto against the Blue Jays.

The game tonight will start at 7:07 PM EDT and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Blue Jays television market, you can catch the game on SportsNet. 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.

Well it’s the moment we’ve been waiting for as Clay Buchholz makes his 2009 Red Sox debut. He’s been in the minors all season long where he was 7-2 with a 2.16 ERA for the PawSox. He’s made 20 appearances (18 starts) for the Red Sox in his career and is 5-10 with a 5.56 ERA. He’s made 3 appearances (2 starts) against the Blue Jays in his career and is 0-2 with a 4.22 ERA.  Two of those starts and losses against the Jays have come at Rogers Centre where he sports an ERA of 3.72.

Rookie Rickey Romero makes his 14th start of the season for the Blue Jays. He’s 7-3 with a 3.00 ERA for Cito Gaston. He’s made one start this season against the Red Sox where he took the loss giving up 5 runs in 4 innings back on May 31st.

If you hadn’t heard the news by now, Julio Lugo has been designated for assignment by the Red Sox. Aaron Bates was also optioned back to Pawtucket. Taking their places on the roster are Mike Lowell, who was activated from the DL, and Buchholz. It’s expected that Buchholz will be sent back down after the game to make room for Jed Lowrie, who will also be activated from the DL.

Sox, Bay break off talks [Extra Bases]

Epstein on Lugo [Extra Bases]

Bay on contract talks [Extra Bases]

Sick Ellsbury scratched [Extra Bases]

Sox, Bay Again Table Talks, But Optimism Grows [Clubhouse Insider]

Contract talks with Bay breaks down [Projo Sox Blog]

Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:

Boston Red Sox54-34

Toronto Blue Jays44-46
1. J.D. Drew RF 1. Marco Scutaro SS
2. Dustin Pedroia 2B 2. Aaron Hill 2B
3. Kevin Youkilis 1B 3. Aaron Lind DH
4. David Ortiz DH 4. Scott Rolen 3B
5. Jason Bay LF 5. Lyle Overbay 1B
6. Mike Lowell 3B 6. Alex Rios CF
7. Jason Varitek C 7. Jose Bautista RF
8. Rocco Baldelli CF 8. Rod Barajas C
9. Nick Green SS 9. David Dellucci LF
Clay Buchholz SP Ricky Romero SP

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

Boston Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays batter/hitter matchups