MARINERS VS. TIM WAKEFIELD

The Sox and Mariners last met in a mid-May series in Seattle, when the M’s took two of three from Boston. The Mariners are only 3.5 games back of the Angels and in third place in the A.L. West.

The Sox will face the three teams below or just above .500 (the Mariners are 40-38, while Oakland (33-44) and Kansas City(33-45) are well under). The Sox can use this next week and a half at home before the All-Star break to gain ground on the Yankees, who will be facing Toronto then traveling to Minnesota and Los Angeles (Angels). All three teams have records over .500.

Wakefield heads to the mound Friday in his second to last start before the All-Star break, trying to add to his candidacy for a berth in the Mid-Summer Classic. In 15 career starts against Seattle, Wakefield has not fared well, with a 4-9 record. Yet seven of his 10 wins this year have come in front of the Fenway Faithful, and with the added incentive of an All-Star appearance on the line, Wakefield is certainly looking to produce a bang in one of his final first-half starts.

Mike Sweeney (35) career at-bats against Wakefield): .257 average, .366 OBP, .257 slugging, 5 walks, 4 strikeouts
Ken Griffey (27): .259/ .333/ .444, homer, 6 strikeouts
Ichiro Suzuki (25): .240/ .296/ .240, 2 walks, strikeout
Russell Branyan (11): 2-for-11, 3 strikeouts
Jose Lopez (12): .333/ .385/ .833, homer, walk
Chris Woodward (11): 2-for-11, walk, 3 strikeouts
Josh Wilson (9): 3-for-9, 3 strikeouts
Wladimir Balentien (6): 1-for-6
Franklin Gutierrez (6): 2-for-5, walk
Kenji Johjima (3): 1-for-3, strikeout

RED SOX VS. FELIX HERNANDEZ

Hernandez has not lost since May 19 and has not gone less than seven innings pitched since May 30. In three games last year against the Red Sox, Hernandez was 1-1 with a 3.20 ERA. Hernandez, too, will look to solidify his All-Star credentials, in a place where he delivered the most dominant outing of his career: a one-hit, complete-game shutout in 2007, in the first home start of Daisuke Matsuzaka’s career.

Given how dominant Hernandez was in that game, it comes as something of a surprise to see that several Red Sox – notably, J.D. Drew, David Ortiz and Mark Kotsay – have done quite well against him.

J.D. Drew (16 career at-bats against Hernandez): .438 Average /.526 OBP/.438 slugging,    3 walks, 5 strikeouts
Dustin Pedroia (15): .200/.294/.267, 2 walks, strikeout
Jason Varitek (15): .133/.188/.133, walk, 5 strikeouts
Kevin Youkilis (12): .333/.385/.333, 3 RBI, 3 strikeouts
Julio Lugo (11): 1-for-11, 2 walks
David Ortiz (11): .364/ .462/.636, homer, 2 walks
Mark Kotsay (11): .455/.500/.636, 1 walk, 1 RBI
Jacoby Ellsbury (7): 0-for-7, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Rocco Baldelli (3): 1-for-3, 1 strikeout
Jason Bay (3): 0-for-3, 1 strikeout
Nick Green (2): 2-for-2

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