Paul Byrd looks for his 3rd win in Red Sox uniform.

Paul Byrd looks for his 3rd win in 4 starts in a Red Sox uniform.

The Boston Red Sox kick off the final month of their 2008 campaign and march towards the playoffs sitting 5.5 games out of 1st place in the AL East and hold a 2.5 game lead in the wild card standings ahead of the Minnesota Twins.

On the homestand, the Red Sox are 2-1 and welcome the Baltimore Orioles to town. This is their last matchup with the cellar dwellers of the AL East and the Red Sox hold a 9-6 advantage in the season series.

Paul Byrd makes the start for the Red Sox tonight and is 2-1 with a 4.19 ERA in 3 starts since he came over from the Cleveland Indians. He’s made 6 starts in his career against the Orioles and is 1-4 with a 4.15 ERA.

Garrett Olson returns from Triple-A Norfolk to make the start for the Orioles tonight. He’s made 5 starts in his career against the Red Sox and is 0-3 with a 7.36 ERA.

Things appear to be relatively quiet at the Fens right now so there’s no news to report. Either that or the local media coverage is taking a nap.

If you missed Steve’s August review of the Boston Red Sox be sure to check that out.

Michael Berger of WEEI wants to know where the afternoon baseball was today at Fenway Park.

I missed this in the morning but wanted to pass it along that Julio Lugo has some legal issues right now that involve him being scammed.

Lineups and batter/pitcher matchups after the jump:

Orioles 63-73

1. Brian Roberts, 2B
2. Adam Jones, CF
3. Nick Markakis, RF
4. Aubrey Huff, 3B
5. Ramon Hernandez, C
6. Luke Scott, DH
7. Kevin Millar, 1B
8. Jay Payton, LF
9. Juan Castro, SS

– Garrett Olson, SP

Red Sox 79-57

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, RF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. Jed Lowrie, SS
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Jeff Bailey, 1B
9. Coco Crisp, CF

– Paul Byrd, SP

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

Orioles vs Red Sox