After falling last night 6-1, the Boston Red Sox look to even up the series tonight in the middle game of a three-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays at historic Fenway Park.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and will be broadcast 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. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.
Don’t forget, Jason Varitek will be honored before the game. The ceremony to honor Tek starts at 6:30 p.m. on NESN. I’ll do my best to get the video posted tonight but I can’t promise you anything. I can tell you it will get up at some point.
The sinkerballer Aaron Cook will make his 6th start of 2012 for the Red Sox. In his previous five starts, Cook is 2-2 with a 3.07 ERA. He has not faced the Blue Jays since the 2007 season as a member of the Colorado Rockies when he took the loss after allowing eight runs (six earned) in 5.1 innings of work. He’s made two career starts against them and is 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA (8 ER/10.2 IP).
Carlos Villanueva will make just his fourth start (26th appearance) for former Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell. In his previous 25 appearances (three starts), Villanueva is 4-0 with a 2.68 ERA. His lone appearance against the Red Sox back on June 2nd when he allowed one run in one inning of work. Overall in his career, Villanueva has made six appearances (one start) and is 1-1 with a 4.63 ERA. He’s made two appearances (one start) at the Fens and is 0-1 with a 6.43 ERA (5 ER/7 IP).
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 today’s lineups:
 46-47 |
 48-46 |
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| 1. Anthony Gose | RF | 1. Daniel Nava | RF |
| 2. Brett Lawrie | 3B | 2. Carl Crawford | LF |
| 3. Colby Rasmus | CF | 3. Dustin Pedroia | 2B |
| 4. Edwin Encarnacion | 1B | 4. Adrian Gonzalez | 1B |
| 5. Adam Lind | DH | 5. Cody Ross | DH |
| 6. J.P. Arencibia | C | 6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia | C |
| 7. Kelly Johnson | 2B | 7. Will Middlebrooks | 3B |
| 8. Yunel Escobar | SS | 8. Ryan Sweeney | CF |
| 9. Travis Snider | LF | 9. Pedro Ciriaco | SS |
| Carlos Villanueva | SP | Aaron Cook | SP |
And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:
NOTES:
REFRESH OR CHECK BACK OFTEN AS MORE LINKS WILL BE ADDED BEFORE GAMETIME IF/WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND WILL BE BOLDED
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Could Josh Beckett’s pregame routine be causing 1st-inning trouble? [clubhouse insider]
Valentine: Things are looking up for Sox [espn boston]
Varitek’s career by the numbers [espn boston]
Gordon Edes pays tribute to Tek [espn boston]
Jason Varitek in his own words [espn boston]
Sox honor Tek tonight at Fenway [espn boston]
Valentine thinks Sox ‘are coming together’ [espn boston]
Sox try to rebound vs. Jays [espn boston]
A ‘planned’ day off for Jacoby Ellsbury [extra bases]
How Many Home Runs Will Cody Ross Hit This Season? [nesn.com]
Adrian Gonzalez, Cody Ross Among Hottest Red Sox Hitters Going Against Toronto [nesn.com]
Josh Beckett Contemplates Tweaking Pregame Routine To Improve On First Inning Struggles [nesn.com]
Aviles out with turf toe [mike petraglia – weei.com]
Valentine on Beckett’s pregame warmups: ‘This is a dog that is hard to teach a new trick to’ [projo sox blog]
Kelly Shoppach crushes lefties — especially lefties he once caught [projo sox blog]
Planned day off for Ellsbury [projo sox blog]
Cook riding wave of success into start vs. Toronto [redsox.com]
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