Josh Beckett (L), Kevin Millwood (R) - AP Photos

The Boston Red Sox went into this weekend’s series with the Baltimore Orioles coming off a 3-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays. Now this afternoon, the Red Sox look to avoid being swept by the last place Orioles.

This afternoon’s game will start at 1:35 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. The game can be seen in the Orioles television market on MASN and WJZ-13. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

Josh Beckett will be asked to help the Red Sox avoid the sweep by the Orioles. He’s made five starts this season and is 1-0 with a 7.22 ERA. He hasn’t faced the Orioles yet this season but was 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA in three starts against them in 2009. Overall in his career, Beckett is 6-2 with a 3.70 ERA in 12 starts against them. In eight career starts at Camden Yards, he is 5-1 with a 3.04 ERA.

Kevin Millwood has made five starts for the Orioles in 2010 and is 0-3 with a 3.38 ERA. He hasn’t faced the Red Sox in 2010 but was 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA in three starts against them as a member of the Texas Rangers in 2009. Millwood has made 15 career starts against the Red Sox and is 6-4 with a 3.84 ERA.

Lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, and links after the jump.

Boston Red Sox11-13

Baltimore Orioles6-18

1. Marco Scutaro SS 1. Adam Jones CF
2. Dustin Pedroia 2B 2. Nick Markakis RF
3. J.D. Drew RF 3. Ty Wigginton 2B
4. Mike Lowell 1B 4. Miguel Tejada 3B
5. David Ortiz DH 5. Luke Scott DH
6. Adrian Beltre 3B 6. Nolan Reimold LF
7. Jason Varitek C 7. Rhyne Hughes 1B
8. Darnell McDonald LF 8. Chris Tatum C
9. Jonathan Van Every CF 9. Julio Lugo SS
Josh Beckett SP Kevin Millwood SP

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

Boston Red Sox vs Baltimore Orioles batter/pitcher matchups

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Red Sox weekly recap (Week 4) [Batter-up with Bruno]

Orioles spoil Matsuzaka’s return [Boston Globe]

Drew gets himself in line for improvement [Boston Globe]

Ortiz’s bat shows signs of life [Boston Globe]

He’s grateful to be left alone [Boston Globe]

Daisuke Matsuzaka doesn’t pay off [Boston Herald]

Daisuke Matsuzaka still must prove himself [Boston Herald]

Miguel Tejada’s pulling for David Ortiz [Boston Herald]

Talent has Red Sox grooving to a Cuban beat [Boston Herald]

A relief for Scott Schoeneweis [Boston Herald]

For Jon Lester, April the unkindest month [Boston Herald]

Dice-K, Wakefield implode, Sox lose, 12-9 [CSN New England]

Little relief, no excuses from Wakefield [ESPN Boston]

Daisuke, the postmortem [ESPN Boston]

The Baltimore chop [Extra Bases]

Youkilis out of lineup [Extra Bases]

Closing Time: Orioles 12, Red Sox 9 [Full Count]

Challenge Time….Early [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]

Report: Red Sox Acquire Middle Infielder Niuman Romero from Indians [NESN.com]

Despite Poor Start, Red Sox Plan to Keep Daisuke Matsuzaka in Rotation [NESN.com]

David Ortiz Isn’t Finished Yet, and Neither Are Red Sox [NESN.com]

Clay Buchholz, Tim Wakefield Co-Captains in Jimmy Fund-Dana Farber Initiative [NESN.com]

Can Victor Martinez End Hitting Slump While Catching? [NESN.com]

Medic Ashley Peterson Honored, Excited to Participate in Run to Home Base 9K [NESN.com]

Tim Wakefield, Clay Buchholz Deliver For Jimmy Fund [NESN.com]

John Farrell: Red Sox Pitching Staff ‘Looking to Gain Some Consistency’ [NESN.com]

The story of Dice-K’s slider [Projo Sox Blog]

Fun night, sort of, for Van Every [Projo Sox Blog]

Wakefield still doesn’t know how often he’ll pitch [Projo Sox Blog]

Beckett trying to get out of own head [Projo Sox Blog]

Youkilis scratched with sore groin [Projo Sox Blog]

Dice-K stumbles in return to the hill [Providence Journal]

On or off field, Varitek is still Red Sox’ leader [Providence Journal]

Are the glory days gone for Boston’s teams? [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Wakefield hammered in first relief stint [Providence Journal]

Schoeneweis rediscovers love for game [RedSox.com]

Hermida gives sore left quad a rest [RedSox.com]

Ortiz shows off some pop in loss to Orioles [RedSox.com]

Decisions aren’t getting any easier for the Red Sox [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]