If the Boston Red Sox don’t make the playoffs in 2010, one reason will be that they couldn’t beat the bottom feeders of the American League like the Cleveland Indians. And that’s exactly what happened on Monday night as they couldn’t pull off another walk-off win in the 6-5 loss to the Indians at Fenway Park.

What started out as a good outing for John Lackey suddenly went south for him in the 5th and 6th innings. His curveball was nasty early on helping him rack up four strikeouts before the Indians struck for two in the 4th. Lackey’s undoing though was inability to locate his other pitches and the Indians took advantage of that.

He had been cruising right along before three straight hits, including two doubles in the 4th, put the Indians out front 2-1.  It could have been 3-1 in the 4th but rookie Ryan Kalish‘s perfect throw nailed Shelley Duncan at the plate.

The 6th inning was what really did Lackey in.

Unable to locate his pitches, he walked the leadoff hitter Jordan Brown then allowed a single to Duncan and a walk to Jayson Nix to load up the sacks full of Indians. He recovered to strikeout Jason Donald but ended his evening with a bases loaded walk to Trevor Crowe that made it 4-1.

Terry Francona brought Manny Delcarmen in and he did his job by getting Asdrubal Cabrera to foul out. But rather than leave MDC in to face the lefty Shin-Soo Choo, Tito went to the bullpen for Dustin Richardson. The move didn’t quite work out as planned for Francona as Choo laced a two-run single to push the Indians lead to 6-1.

From that point, Tim Wakefield, pitching on his 44th birthday, kept the Red Sox in the game while they rallied behind the bat of Adrian Beltre, who hit a solo home run in the 7th and a 3-run homer in the 8th. They would only muster up a Marco Scutaro single in the 9th off the Indians closer Chris Perez.

The one thing that was most frustrating about last night’s loss was the decisions by third base coach Tim Bogar on sending runners home.

In the 3rd inning, Scutaro led off with a double and went to third on a J.D. Drew fly out. Kevin Cash, in for an injured Kevin Youkilis who left with a jammed right thumb, hit a ball to medium depth left field. Bogar decided to send Scutaro home but Duncan’s throw was on the mark and Scutaro was EASILY out at home plate.

It happened again in the 7th inning.

After Beltre’s solo blast, Kalish followed with a double. After Bill Hall grounded out, Daniel Nava, up for Mike Cameron who placed on the DL before the game, hit a single to right field. Bogar once again decided to send the runner and Choo gunned down Kalish at home plate. While the play was closer than the one in the 3rd, it was another runner that shouldn’t have been sent.

Indians phenom Carlos Santana was injured on the play as well as his knee went in a direction it shouldn’t have. Initial tests on him were good but he’s on his way bay to Cleveland for an MRI.

Something has to give with Bogar. It really does. How much longer does Francona keep him around if he’s going to continue to cost the Red Sox ball games.

We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, any news and links from the day but for now enjoy the overnight links after the jump.

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

Time at third no charm for Sox coach Bogar [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Bad tidings [Boston Globe]

This situation at critical mass [Boston Globe]

Cameron goes back on the disabled list [Boston Globe]

Kalish’s night turns on collision [Boston Globe]

Recap: Indians 6, Red Sox 5 [Boston Herald]

Kevin Youkilis caught in a jam [Boston Herald]

Daniel Nava rides on major highway [Boston Herald]

John Lackey loses control [Boston Herald]

Sox lose Youkilis, game 6-5 [CSN New England]

Youkilis to have MRI on thumb [CSN New England]

Saltalamacchia arrives [ESPN Boston]

New catcher could impact Varitek’s future [ESPN Boston]

Reddick makes a statement [ESPN Boston]

Saltalamacchia makes PawSox debut [ESPN Boston]

Lowell suggests resolution is at hand [ESPN Boston]

Francona: Bogar ‘knows’ it was a mistake [ESPN Boston]

Quick hits: Another big game for Beltre [ESPN Boston]

Initial report on Youkilis is good [Extra Bases]

Closing Time: Indians 6, Red Sox 5 [Full Count]

Youkilis to have MRI on right thumb [Full Count]

Sox Coming Up Short [Hit and Run with Dan Roche]

Jed Lowrie Thankful to be Back in Boston After Long Road to Recovery [NESN.com]

Ryan Kalish Taking Call-Up in Stride While Adjusting to Big Leagues [NESN.com]

Former Red Sox Great Mo Vaughn Having Success Improving Run-Down Housing [NESN.com]

Ryan Kalish Unsettled After Ugly Collision With Carlos Santana [NESN.com]

Red Sox Bats Arrive Late in Loss to Indians as Tight-Game Trend Continues [NESN.com]

Will Mike Lowell Get Another Opportunity to Play for the Red Sox? [NESN.com]

David Ortiz Serves as Milan Lucic’s Personal Hitting Coach [NESN.com]

Lackey not living up to his billing [Providence Journal]

Kalish off to strong start [Providence Journal]

Youkilis to have MRI on thumb Tuesday [Providence Journal]

Surgery looms as Cameron lands on disabled list [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Indians catcher crunched in crash [Providence Journal]

Ellsbury heads back to Pawtucket [RedSox.com]

Youkilis exits with jammed right thumb [RedSox.com]

Beltre’s two homers can’t rally Red Sox [RedSox.com]

Kalish in middle of action since promotion [RedSox.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.

And if you must read the enemy papers, check out the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Akron Beacon Journal websites.

Photo credit: AP Photo

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below.

Thank you for stopping and by making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

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

UConn Football links

UConn Football Picked To Finish Fourth In Big East [SOX & Dawgs]

Some BE Media Day Opening Remarks From BE Commish [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

DC also answered a few questions in his mailbag yesterday [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Come for the football, stay to be Jonathan the Husky’s musher [TheUConnBlog]

UConn’s Mascot Gives Crowd The Stone Cold Salute In NCAA 2011 [SB Nation]

UConn Football Earns Its Highest Big East Preseason Ranking [Hartford Courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Oklahoma game is Feb. 14 [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Now We Know When UConn Will Play Oklahoma [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Valentine’s Day With The Sooners [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

GPA Over GHPA Tonight for Lamb [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Jim Calhoun, Ray Allen Join Kevin Ollie At Charity Golf Event [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Kevin Ollie Charity Golf Classic [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Meet Niels Giffey [UConn Huskies Basketball]

College football is slowly creeping upon us and today as they get together in Newport, RI, the Big East has released the 2010 Preseason Big East Football rankings.

The Pittsburgh Panthers are the overwhelming favorites to earn the Big East’s BCS bid receiving 22-of-24 first place votes. The West Virginia Mountaineers received one first place vote and were picked to finish second along with the Cincinnati Bearcats.

Obviously someone out there liked the UConn Huskies chances as they received the other first place vote but are picked to end up fourth. This is the highest ranking the Huskies have received since joining the Big East in football.

The Huskies will begin practicing next Monday (August 9th) in anticipation of the opening game against the Michigan Wolverines on September 4th in Ann Arbor, MI at the Big House.

Here is the complete Preseason Big East Football rankings:

• 1. Pittsburgh (22 first-place votes) 190
• 2. Cincinnati 142
     West Virginia (1) 142
• 4. Connecticut (1) 131
• 5. Rutgers 99
• 6. USF 79
• 7. Syracuse 41
• 8. Louisville 40

Cleveland Indians @ Boston Red Sox 7:10 p.m. Fenway Park – Boston, MA SP: Fausto Carmona vs John Lackey TV: NESN, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 8/2 [SOX & Dawgs]

After taking two-of-three from the Detroit Tigers, the Boston Red Sox will host the Cleveland Indians in the first of a four-game set to close out the homestand at Fenway Park.

This evening’s game will start at 7:10 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Indians television market, you can catch the game on STO. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

John Lackey makes his 22nd start of 2010 for the Red Sox and has pitched well as of late. In his previous 21 starts, he is 10-5 with a 4.26 ERA. He hasn’t faced the Indians in 2010 and is 6-6 with a 3.71 ERA in 14 career starts against them.

All-Star Fausto Carmona also is making his 22nd start of 2010 and is 10-8 with a 3.92 ERA. He’s faced the Red Sox once in 2010 back on June 7th, taking the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) in six innings.  Carmona’s made six appearances (four starts) against the Red Sox in his career and is 1-3 with a 5.16 ERA. He’s made three appearances (one start) at Fenway Park and is 0-2 with a 40.50 ERA.

Keep reading for lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and pregame links.

Here are tonight’s starting lineups:

44-61		60-45
1. Trevor Crowe	CF	1. Marco Scutaro	SS
2. Asdrubal Cabrera	SS	2. J.D. Drew	RF
3. Shin-Soo Choo	RF	3. Kevin Youkilis	1B
4. Carlos Santana	C	4. David Ortiz	DH
5. Matt LaPorta	1B	5. Victor Martinez	C
6. Jordan Brown	DH	6. Adrian Beltre	3B
7. Shelley Duncan	LF	7. Ryan Kalish	LF
8. Jayson Nix	3B	8. Bill Hall	2B
9. Jason Donald	SS	9. Eric Patterson	CF
Fausto Carmona	SP	John Lackey	SP

Here’s how the hitters have fared against this afternoon’s starting pitchers in their careers:

Mike Cameron has found himself back on the disabled list for the same injury that got him there in the first place. Daniel Nava has been called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to take Cameron’s spot on the 25-man roster. In 29 games with the Red Sox this season, Nava is hitting .286 with one home run and 16 RBIs.

And a happy 44th birthday goes out to Tim Wakefield.

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

Cameron to the D.L., Nava back up [Clubhouse Insider]

Red Sox put Cameron on DL [ESPN Boston]

Time to get better against the worst [Extra Bases]

Big-league fun in the minors [Extra Bases]

Pedroia does a little running [Extra Bases]

Cameron returns to disabled list [Extra Bases]

Ellsbury will play at least one more rehab game [Full Count]

Imperfect resolution awaits Lowell situation [Full Count]

Trade deadline boosts stable of names [Full Count]

Red Sox pregame notes: Cameron’s guts, Ellsbury’s timetable, and more [Full Count]

Red Sox’ Hot Bats Look to Take Advantage of Indians’ Struggling Staff [NESN.com]

Rebuilding Indians Look to Develop Young Talent, Climb Into Contention by 2013 [NESN.com]

Tim Wakefield’s 44th Birthday Reminds Us of Over-40 Athletes Who Ignore Father Time [NESN.com]

Mike Cameron Placed on Disabled List, Replaced on Roster by Daniel Nava [NESN.com]

Terry Francona Says Red Sox Holding Onto Hope That Mike Cameron Can Avoid Season-Ending Surgery [NESN.com]

If you blow a save, should you get a win? [Projo Sox Blog]

No update on Lowell [Projo Sox Blog]

Ellsbury headed back to Pawtucket on Tuesday [Projo Sox Blog]

Pedroia, Varitek making steady progress [Projo Sox Blog]

Nava gets another call [Projo Sox Blog]

Abdominal issues land Cameron on DL [RedSox.com]

Photo credits: AP Photo, Getty Images

UConn Huskies point guard Kemba Walker has been a busy bee this summer. He’s been training with the USA Basketball  Men’s Select Team and also playing in the Greater Hartford Pro-Am.

And now according to the press release below from USA Basketball, he’ll continue to play with the Men’s Select Team that will help train the 2010 USA Basketball World Championship Team:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (August 2, 2010) – Ten members of the USA Basketball Select Team that recently completed training with the USA National Team in Las Vegas, Nev., have accepted invitations from USA Basketball to participate on another USA Men’s Select Team that will train against 2010 USA Men’s World Championship Team finalists during training in New York City. The Select Team members will be in New York Aug. 9-13 and training against the USA World Championship Team finalists Aug 10-13.

Named to the 2010 USA Basketball Select squad that participate in the USA World Championship Team training camp in New York were: JaJuan Johnson (Purdue University / Indianapolis, Ind.); Jon Leuer (University of Wisconsin / Orono, Minn.); Shelvin Mack (Butler University / Lexington, Ky.); Kyle Singler (Duke University / Medford, Ore.); Chris Singleton (Florida State University / Canton, Ga.); Nolan Smith (Duke University / Upper Marlboro, Md.); Howard Thompkins (University of Georgia / Lithonia, Ga.); Mike Tisdale (University of Illinois / Riverton, Ill.); Kemba Walker (University of Connecticut / Bronx, N.Y.); and Chris Wright (University of Dayton / Trotwood, Ohio).

Villanova University head coach Jay Wright will also return to direct the 2010 USA Select Team in New York.

“One of the great developments of our Las Vegas camp was the USA Select Team which consisted of juniors and seniors out of the college ranks that we brought in to scrimmage against the USA National Team. Lorenzo Romar and Jay Wright did a terrific job of coaching the select players in Las Vegas. It worked so well we’ve decided to bring to New York a smaller group of players from that Select Team to do the same thing. They were very valuable to us and it’s a great experience for them,” said USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo.

The 10 returning members of the USA Select Team will gather in New York on Aug. 9, and train against the USA World Championship Team finalists on Aug. 10 (1-3 p.m. EDT at John Jay College); Aug. 11 (1-3 p.m. EDT at John Jay College); Aug. 12 (time and site TBD); and Aug. 13 (11 a.m-12:30 p.m. EDT at the New York Knicks practice facility, Tarrytown, N.Y.).

While all 10 Select Team members gained USA Basketball experience during the July 19-24 USA National Team training camp in Las Vegas, six of the selected collegians also boast of prior USA Basketball experience. Mack and Thompkins were members of USA Basketball’s 2009 U19 World Championship Team that finished 9-0 in New Zealand to claim the gold medal. Additionally, Singler and Smith were teammates on the USA’s 2006 U18 Team that captured gold at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship and they were again teammates on the 2007 USA Junior National Select Team that defeated an international select team in the Nike Hoop Summit. Walker was a member of the 2008 USA FIBA Americas U18 Championship Team that collected a silver medal and was named MVP of the tournament, while Johnson has USA Basketball experience through the 2009 USA Basketball Trials.

Photo credit: Hartford Courant

On paper, the pitching matchup between Justin Verlander and Clay Buchholz had low scoring affair written all over it and that’s exactly what happened on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park. Both pitchers were strong with the Boston Red Sox breaking through for three runs early on against Verlander.

From the fourth inning on, the Red Sox weren’t able to do anything against the Detroit Tigers starter as he retired the last 13 batters he faced in the game. But fortunately for the Red Sox, Buchholz was dominating on the mound.

Buchholz had good command and life on his fastball as well as his secondary pitches. Before the top of the 9th, Buchholz had given up two hits while striking out five and walking three. He entered the 9th having thrown 98 pitches and looked to be well on his way to his second complete game of the season.

But a bad bounce in front of Jed Lowrie allowed the leadoff hitter Will Rhymes to reach first and a walk to Ryan Raburn ended his afternoon as he walked off to a standing ovation from the Fenway faithful. Some of whom who were waiting for the game to be over so they could meet their heroes at the Picnic in the Park after the game.

Jonathan Papelbon came in to face the top hitter in the American League in Miguel Cabrera and he promptly took the first pitch fastball from Paps and hit in to deep center for a 2-run double to cut the lead to 3-2. Papelbon rebounded to strikeout Brennan Boesch but the newest Tiger Jhonny Peralta took the first pitch he saw and singled to score the pinch runner Don Kelly to tie the game and give Papelbon his fifth blown save of 2010.

Papelbon did escape the inning by getting a double play ball but the damage was done. Buchholz wouldn’t be getting his 12th win of the season.

As we’ve learned throughout the 2010 season, the Red Sox don’t have the word quit in their vocabulary.

Lowrie worked his way on with an infield single and gave way to a pinch-runner in Darnell McDonald. Eric Patterson then worked a walk off of Brad Thomas. Tigers skipper Jim Leyland brought in Friday’s winning pitcher Robbie Weinhardt to face Marco Scutaro who would be bunting.

Scutaro put down a nice bunt down the third base line and Weinhardt’s throw to first got past Kelly allowing McDonald to score and set off another walk-off celebration for the Red Sox.

The blown save by Papelbon is concerning right now but fortunately for him the offense picked him up. It’s a shame Buchholz wasn’t able to get his 12th win because he certainly deserved it on Sunday.

But two walk-off wins in a row can do a lot for a team’s confidence and the Red Sox clearly need that as we approach the last two months of the season.

We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups, any news and links from the day but for now enjoy the overnight links after the jump.

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

Youk’s diary: Clearing the air [Kevin Youkilis – ESPN Boston]

How Ryan Kalish ended up with the Red Sox [Alex Speier- WEEI.com]

Their daily walkoff [Boston Globe]

Dominant Buchholz fine with the end result [Boston Globe]

After deadline, Lowell still feeling left out [Boston Globe]

Better by leaps and bounds [Boston Globe]

Recap: Red Sox 4, Tigers 3 [Boston Herald]

Deal with this: Clay Buchholz a keeper [Boston Herald]

Jonathan Papelbon unfazed by BS [Boston Herald]

Marco Scutaro magic [Boston Herald]

Red Sox win again in the ninth, 4-3 [CSN New England]

Sox players proving they deserve a shot [CSN New England]

Ones that got away: Traded prospects [ESPN Boston]

Kalish day after: ‘Crazy, but crazy’s fun’ [ESPN Boston]

Clay Buchholz: unplugged [ESPN Boston]

Terry Francona: unplugged [ESPN Boston]

Lowrie getting comfortable again [ESPN Boston]

Sox save Pap [ESPN Boston]

Tuesday a likely target for Ellsbury [ESPN Boston]

How waiver deals work [Extra Bases]

Closing Time: Red Sox 4, Tigers 3 [Full Count]

Picking up Pap [Full Count]

Report: Yankees sought Lowell at deadline [Full Count]

Who Will Be Top Dawg of the Week for Red Sox Against Indians and Yankees? [Jerry Remy – NESN.com]

Red Sox Prospect Tyler Wilson Back on Mound After Recovering From Heart Ailment [NESN.com]

Return of Healthy Jed Lowrie Continuing to Translate Into Success for Red Sox [NESN.com]

Red Sox Save Best Work for Late on Way to Taking Series With Tigers [NESN.com]

How Many Games Do Red Sox Need to Win in August to Stay in Playoff Race? [NESN.com]

Clay Buchholz: ‘I’d Give the Ball to Jonathan Papelbon Any Day’ [NESN.com]

Red Sox’ Hot Bats Look to Take Advantage of Indians’ Struggling Staff [NESN.com]

Rebuilding Indians Look to Develop Young Talent, Climb Into Contention by 2013 [NESN.com]

Sox lose lead, come back for another walk-off win [Providence Journal]

Doubront prepared to do what it takes [Providence Journal]

Buchholz still gets antsy at trade deadline [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Lowell still in limbo [Providence Journal]

Francona impressed by Lowrie’s hitting [RedSox.com]

Red Sox pull out thrilling win on Tigers error [RedSox.com]

Does Red Sox’ approach suit you? [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]

For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.

And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying, head over to the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News and MLive.com websites. You can also check out what our Bloguin brother, Detroit4lyfe, has to say.

Photo credit: AP Photo

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

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

UConn Football links

DC was busy answering questions in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Big East predictions [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Out Like a Lamb [David Borges – New Haven Register]

2010 Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

INCH A-Z: Garrett Bartus [Inside College Hockey]

Detroit Tigers @ Boston Red Sox 1:35 p.m. Fenway Park – Boston, MA SP: Justin Verlander vs Clay Buchholz TV: NESN, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 8/1 [SOX & Dawgs]

We’re going to do things a little differently here today since I woke up late. The plan for today is to combine the normal morning post along with the lineup post. This way I can talk about yesterday’s game while preparing you for today’s game.

The month of July was not kind to the Boston Red Sox. They were very close to the top spot in the AL East but never got over the hump. Instead, they battled themselves to a 12-13 record in the month of the July and find themselves 7.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place and 5.5 games behind the Tampa Rays for second place and also in the wild card standings.

The month of August will probably tell us whether the Red Sox will have a shot at playing in the postseason or they’ll be making tee times and vacation plans. I certainly do hope they will be playing for a shot at the postseason.

The non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone for all 30 MLB teams and we the saw the Red Sox stand pat for the most part. They did make two small moves sending Ramon Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants and trading for Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Texas Rangers.

A few years ago, it would  have cost the Red Sox Clay Buchholz but they were able to get him for two minor leaguers, $350,000 and a PTBNL. The cost of Salty was cheaper because he’s had problems throwing the ball back to the pitcher or as it’s known in the baseball world a case of the yips.

Salty was optioned to Pawtucket after the trade where the Red Sox will continue to monitor his progress on the yips. Should the Red Sox not be able to sign Victor Martinez to deal after the season, it’s quite possible we could see Salty as the every day catcher in 2011. But until then, it’s time to concentrate on 2010.

Another big move the Red Sox made yesterday was the surprising move of designating Jeremy Hermida for assignment. Interestingly enough, Hermida had options left on his contract but was designated instead. He started out hot for the Red Sox but cooled down and then never really found his stroke after coming back from the disabled list where he had been after breaking ribs in a collision with Adrian Beltre.

The Red Sox brought up Ryan Kalish who has risen through the Red Sox system this year. He’s comparable to Trot Nixon and will bring the Red Sox some good pop as well as good defense once he gets acclimated to left field in Fenway Park. Dustin Richardson was brought up to replace Ramirez on the roster probably only because Michael Bowden wasn’t eligible to be called back up until tomorrow.

The bases clearing double by David Ortiz secured another Red Sox comeback win yesterday and showed they will not quit. Just like Friday night, Papi came through in the clutch but this time it led them to a win. It was a curious move by Jim Leyland though that may have helped as well.

With two runners on base and Kevin Youkilis at the plate, Leyland decided it was best to intentionally walk Youk. Although it’s unconventional to put the winning run on base, Leyland played the numbers. You see Big Papi was 0-for-8 against Phil Coke with three strikeouts so the odds were in Tigers favor.

And as you all know, Big Papi is now 1-for-9 against Coke with a double and three RBIs. Hopefully that moment plus the return of Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia to the lineup in the near future can spark the Red Sox to the promised land.

Keep reading for today’s pitching matchups, lineups, and batter/pitcher matchups.

After coming back for a 5-4 win on Saturday afternoon, the Red Sox will be looking to take the rubber game of a three-game set against the Tigers at Fenway Park in what figures to be a battle of two heavyweight pitchers.

This afternoon’s game will start at 1:35 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Tigers television market, you can catch the game on FOX Sports Detroit.  If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

All-Star Clay Buchholz will make his 18th start of 2010 for the Red Sox and Terry Francona. In his previous 17 starts, he is 11-5 with a 2.71 ERA. He’s made one start against the Tigers in 2010 back on May 14th in which he picked up the win after allowing one run over 6 1/3 innings. He’s made three career starts against the Tigers in his career and is 1-1 with a 3.63 ERA.

All-Star Justin Verlander has made 21 starts in 2010 for Jim Leyland and is 12-6 with a 3.74 ERA.  He hasn’t faced the Red Sox this season but holds a 2-2 record with a 3.90 ERA in four career starts against them. He’s made three of those starts at Fenway Park and is 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA.

Here are today’s starting lineups:

52-51		59-45
1. Austin Jackson	CF	1. Marco Scutaro	SS
2. Will Rhymes	2B	2. J.D. Drew	RF
3. Ryan Raburn	LF	3. Kevin Youkilis	1B
4. Miguel Cabrera	1B	4. David Ortiz	DH
5. Brennan Boesch	RF	5. Victor Martinez	C
6. Jhonny Peralta	3B	6. Adrian Beltre	3B
7. Jeff Frazier	DH	7. Ryan Kalish	LF
8. Alex Avila	C	8. Jed Lowrie	2B
9. Ramon Santiago	SS	9. Eric Patterson	CF
Justin Verlander	SP	Clay Buchholz	SP

Here’s how the hitters have fared against this afternoon’s starting pitchers in their careers:

For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal and WEEI websites.

And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying, head over to the Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News and MLive.com websites. You can also check out what our Bloguin brother, Detroit4lyfe, has to say.

Photo credits: AP Photo, Getty Images, Getty Images