Jon Lester (7-6, 4.16 ERA) takes the hill tonight against Brian Bannister (6-6, 3.87 ERA), as the Red Sox try to apologize to their fans for losing a 4-0 lead last night.
The bullpen, which until recently has been phenomenal, has been laying a few more eggs the past few weeks, especially during this home stand. It is almost single-handedly responsible for the Yankees catching up in the standings.
Lester should have a good night against a team he has owned in his last three starts. He has a 1.64 ERA in twenty twoo innings, including the no-hitter he pitched on May 19th, 2008.
Another good piece of news: Bannister is 0-3 with an 8.22 ERA against the Red Sox in his career.
This should be a formula for a win, but in recent weeks, the Red Sox' offense has been mightily underwhelming.
However, David Ortiz is heating up again, and Dustin Pedroia had another three-hit game, proving that the scrappy second baseman will not slump for long.
If the Red Sox can get just a little more offense going, they should easily re-take the lead in the AL East, or at least prevent the Yankees from taking a game from them.
Hopefully, this is just what the bats need. Of the players with more than four at-bats against Bannister, all are hitting above .360 (Ortiz, Pedroia, Youkilis and Drew).
We'll see tonight, as the Red Sox take on the Kansas City Royals, 7:10 p.m. at Fenway Park.
On a lighter note, Royals' manager Trey Hillman's epic moustashe has entertained me at least one night and promises to continue to make me laugh. I can't decide if he just likes it or is trying to pay homage to old school baseball.
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