Before heading into a much needed day off, The Boston Red Sox will look to escape Canada with a win tonight as they take on the Toronto Blue Jays in the finale of a brief two-game set at Rogers Centre.
Tonight’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:07 p.m. and you can catch the game on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Blue Jays television market you can watch the game on Rogers SportsNet. And if you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2011 Red Sox Radio Network.
John Lackey looks to rebound from what was probably his worst in a Red Sox uniform his last time out. Lackey has made six starts in 2011 and is 2-4 with a 7.16 ERA. He has not faced the Blue Jays this season and was 1-2 with an 8.61 ERA in four starts against them last year. Lackey has made 15 career starts against the Jays and is 4-5 with a 4.58 ERA. Ten of those starts have come in Toronto where he is 3-3 with a 3.82 ERA.
Jesse Litsch will make his seventh start of the season for skipper John Farrell. In his previous six starts, Litsch is 3-2 with a 4.04 ERA. He has made one start against the Red Sox in 2011, taking the loss back on 4/17 when he allowed six runs (four earned) in five innings of work. Litsch has made eight career starts against the Red Sox and is 4-3 with a 4.11 ERA.
Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day if you’re on the home page.
Here are tonight’s lineups:
 17-19 |
 16-20 |
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| 1. Jacoby Ellsbury | CF | 1. Yunel Escobar | SS |
| 2. Dustin Pedroia | 2B | 2. Corey Patterson | LF |
| 3. Adrian Gonzalez | 1B | 3. Jose Bautista | RF |
| 4. Kevin Youkilis | 3B | 4. Juan Rivera | DH |
| 5. David Ortiz | DH | 5. Aaron Hill | 2B |
| 6. J.D. Drew | RF | 6. J. P. Arencibia | DH |
| 7. Carl Crawford | LF | 7. David Cooper | 1B |
| 8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia | C | 8. John McDonald | 3B |
| 9. Jose Iglesias |
SS | 9. Rajai Davis | CF |
| John Lackey |
SP | Jesse Litsch | SP |
And here is how the starters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers:
Check back and/or refresh often as more links will be added if/when they become available before game time.
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Anatomy of an at-bat Bard would like back [Clubhouse Insider]
Francona fined [Clubhouse Insider]
Red Sox play the blame game [CSNNE.com]
Panic Still Not Present With Red Sox, Despite Walk-Off Loss, Shuffling Rotation [Don Orsillo – NESN.com]
Francona eager for Iglesias’ first start [ESPN Boston]
Ryan Kalish update [Extra Bases]
The lack of production from behind the plate [Extra Bases]
Peter Gammons on M&M: ‘There’s something funny about the passion of this team’ [Full Count]
John Lackey’s Up-and-Down Start to Season Continues to Perplex [NESN.com]
Hanging with David Cooper [Projo Sox Blog]
Pinch-running Iglesias for Lowrie [Projo Sox Blog]
Day off will give Red Sox a chance to reset bullpen [Projo Sox Blog]
Francona fined, not suspended, for balk incident [Projo Sox Blog]
With Lowrie ill, Iglesias gets first big league start [RedSox.com]
Litsch, Blue Jays eye two-game sweep of Red Sox [RedSox.com]
Photo credits: Getty Images, Getty Images
