John Smoltz started strong but faltered late as the Texas Rangers went on to a 6-3 win over the Boston Red Sox last night. Tonight, the Red Sox look to rebound at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
The game tonight will start at 8:05 PM EDT and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Rangers television market, you can catch the game on FOX Sports Southwest. 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.
Josh Beckett starts for Terry Francona tonight and he didn’t get to face the Rangers on their trip to Boston. Beckett is making his 19th start of the season and he is 11-3 with a 3.35 ERA. He’s made 4 career starts against the Rangers and is 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA. He’s had good success at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington as he is 2-0 with 0.75 ERA (1 ER/12 IP) in two starts.
Rookie Tommy Hunter gets the ball for Ron Washington tonight. In four starts this season, he is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA. He has faced the Red Sox once in his career, back on August 14, 2008. In that start, he was rocked for 9 runs in just 1 2/3 innings to take the loss in a 10-0 win by the Red Sox.
In case you missed the news, the Red Sox placed Tim Wakefield on the disabled list and have recalled Clay Buchholz from Triple-A Pawtucket.
Wakefield to DL; Buchholz recalled [Extra Bases]
Scoring and the Sox [Extra Bases]
What’s the rush? [Tony Massarotti]
Updated: Wakefield discusses back injury [Projo Sox Blog]
With flu bug behind him, Papelbon ready for action [Projo Sox Blog]
Wakefield on DL with lower back strain; Buchholz replaces him in rotation [Clubhouse Insider]
Dustin Pedroia on Dale & Holley [Full Count]
Wakefield Injured, Buchholz to Get Start Wednesday in Texas [Heidi Watney – NESN.com]
Yankees Are the Team to Fear in Second Half [Don Orsillo – NESN.com]
No Need to Panic Over Smoltz’s Struggles … Yet [NESN.com]
Red Sox’s Buchholz: A showcase? [FOXSports.com]
Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:
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| 1. Jacoby Ellsbury | CF | 1. Ian Kinsler | 2B |
| 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B | 2. Michael Young | 3B |
| 3. Kevin Youkilis | 1B | 3. Josh Hamilton | CF |
| 4. David Ortiz | DH | 4. Andruw Jones | DH |
| 5. Jason Bay | LF | 5. Hank Blalock | 1B |
| 6. J.D. Drew | RF | 6. Marlon Byrd | RF |
| 7. Mike Lowell | 3B | 7. David Murphy | LF |
| 8. Jason Varitek | C | 8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia | C |
| 9. Jed Lowrie | SS | 9. Elvis Andrus | SS |
| Josh Beckett | SP | Tommy Hunter | SP |
55-37
50-41And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:
