After a 7-3 homestand that ended with a 3-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Boston Red Sox enjoy an off day on Monday. They now head out on 7-game road trip that starts tonight with the first of three games against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Tonight’s game will start at 7:08 PM and will be covered on the NESN in the Red Sox television market. In the Tampa area, you can catch the game on Fox Sports Florida. If the television isn’t your cup of tea, You can also catch the game on the radio on one of the many affiliates of the Red Sox Radio Network.
Jon Lester makes his 27th start of the season and has just one loss in his last eleven appearances. He is 10-7 with a 3.60 ERA. He is winless against the Rays this season as he is 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA in three starts. He’s made ten career starts against them and is 4-2 with a 4.66 ERA. In three career starts at Tropicana Field, he is 1-0 with a 5.00 ERA.
Andy Sonnanstine was recalled from the Triple-A Durham Bulls for the start tonight. He had made 15 starts for the Rays before being sent down just over two months ago. He is 6-7 with a 6.61 ERA in the big leagues this season. He has faced the Red Sox once this year back on May 1st where he picked up the win after allowing two runs in 5 2/3 innings. In six career starts against the Red Sox, he is 2-1 with a 5.08 ERA.
Rays-Sox pitching matchups (and more) [Extra Bases]
The new guys and other updates [Extra Bases]
Martinez one month in [Extra Bases]
Change Comes For Jon Lester [Full Count]
Wakefield taking it easy [Projo Sox Blog]
Sox set rotation for road trip [Projo Sox Blog]
Woodward up, Lowrie remains with PawSox [Projo Sox Blog]
Dice-K still on track [Projo Sox Blog]
Martinez in, Varitek out [Projo Sox Blog]
Gathright ready for action [Projo Sox Blog]
Red Sox’ Roster Taking Shape for September Playoff Push [Don Orsillo – NESN.com]
Francona’s Staff Management Playing Crucial Role Down the Stretch [NESN.com]
Here are tonight’s starting lineups:
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| 1. Jacoby Ellsbury | CF | 1. Jason Bartlett | SS |
| 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B | 2. Carl Crawford | LF |
| 3. Victor Martinez | C | 3. Ben Zobrist | RF |
| 4. Kevin Youkilis | 1B | 4. Evan Longoria | 3B |
| 5. David Ortiz | DH | 5. Carlos Peña | 1B |
| 6. Jason Bay | LF | 6. Pat Burrell | DH |
| 7. Mike Lowell | 3B | 7. Akinori Iwamura | 2B |
| 8. J.D. Drew | RF | 8. Dioner Navarro | C |
| 9. Alex Gonzalez | SS | 9. B.J. Upton | CF |
| Jon Lester | SP | Andy Sonnanstine | SP |
76-54
71-59And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:
