After yet another comeback win last night, the Boston Red Sox go for the sweep of the Minnesota Twins tonight at Target Field in the finale of a three-game set.
Today’s first pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. and will be broadcast in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the Twins broadcast area, you can catch the game on Fox Sports North. And if you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2011 Red Sox Radio Network.
After picking up the loss his last time out, Jon Lester looks to rebound in his 22nd start of 2011. In his previous 21 starts, Lester is 11-5 with a 3.23 ERA. He has not faced the Twins in 2011 and was 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA (5 ER/15 IP) in two starts against them in 2010. Lester has made six career appearances (five starts) against the Twins and is 1-2 with a 4.67 ERA. He’s made three starts in the Twin Cities and is 0-2 with a 6.61 ERA. In his lone start at Target Field, he is 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA (4 ER/5 IP).
Nick Blackburn makes his 24th of 2011 for free falling Twins. In his previous 23 starts, Blackburn is 7-9 with a 4.58 ERA. He’s made one start against the Red Sox this and received a no decision after allowing one run in 6.1 innings back on May 9th. He’s made five appearances (four starts) against the Red Sox in his career and is 2-1 with a 4.00 ERA. Two of those career starts have come in the Twin Cities (Metrodome) where he was 2-0 with a 3.46 ERA. In two of his last three starts against the Red Sox, he’s been matched up with Lester (went against Josh Beckett at Fenway this year).
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 this evening’s lineups:
 72-43 |
 51-65 |
||
| 1. Jacoby Ellsbury | CF | 1. Denard Span | CF |
| 2. Marco Scutaro |
SS | 2. Ben Revere | RF |
| 3. Adrian Gonzalez | 1B | 3. Joe Mauer | C |
| 4. Kevin Youkilis | 3B | 4. Michael Cuddyer | 1B |
| 5. David Ortiz | DH | 5. Jim Thome | DH |
| 6. Carl Crawford | LF | 6. Danny Valencia | 3B |
| 7. Jarrod Saltalamacchia | C | 7. Delmon Young | LF |
| 8. Josh Reddick | RF | 8. Trevor Plouffe | 2B |
| 9. Mike Aviles |
2B | 9. Tsuyoshi Nishioka | SS |
| Jon Lester |
SP | Nick Blackburn |
SP |
And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:
Check back and/or refresh often as more links will be added if/when they become available before game time.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Primed for a payday: Where Papelbon stands in the free agent market for closers [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]
Why J.D. Drew is confident he can still contribute to Red Sox [Clubhouse Insider]
Papelbon dominant since spring scare [CSN New England]
Notes: Pedroia finally gets night off [CSN New England]
Jed Lowrie Will Have to Once Again Work to Earn Starting Job With Red Sox [Don Orsillo – NESN.com]
Playoffs come early this year–Sept. 30 [ESPN Boston]
The two faces of Terry Francona [Extra Bases]
The Red Sox are on a historic pace [Extra Bases]
Jerry Remy on D&C: Erik Bedard ‘will be a huge addition’ [Full Count]
Transcript of Terry Francona on The Big Show: Erik Bedard’s peformance ‘exciting’ [Full Count]
Red Sox Mailbag: Josh Reddick Has Earned Right to Stay in Right Field If and When J.D. Drew Returns [NESN.com]
NESN Debates: Who Is the Red Sox’ MVP of the 2011 Season So Far? [NESN.com]
Will Ryan Kalish Make an Impact With the Red Sox Down the Stretch? [NESN.com]
Red Sox Team Home Run Race Could Yield Sideshow in Final Weeks of Season [NESN.com]
J.D. Drew takes 35 swings in the batting cage [Projo Sox Blog]
Albers enduring first sustained slump of season [Projo Sox Blog]
Lester, Red Sox set sights on sweep of Twins [RedSox.com]
Last Night’s NESN Pre-Game Show, If I Wrote the Script [Surviving Grady]
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Photo credits: Getty Images, AP Photo
