Tim Wakefield

Monday night’s 2-1 win at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum certainly can qualify as one of the biggest wins of the season for the Sox, considering the importance of this 10-game West Coast road trip. With the Sox knowing they cannot afford to lose many more series in the second half if they want to hang with Tampa Bay and New York, beating Oakland could prove to be the perfect cure for a group plagued by injuries.

Tim Wakefield (3-8, 5.65 ERA) takes the ball Tuesday night, hoping to forget about his last two starts and prove he is capable of staying in the rotation for the remainder of the season. With Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz returning from the disabled list this week, the veteran knuckleballer could use a strong outing to solidify himself in the rotation, although it is unlikely he will stay put after Daisuke Matsuzaka‘s impressive outing on Monday. Wakefield has struggled of late, having gone only two innings his last outing against Texas — the shortest outing of the season for him — giving up eight hits and six runs en route to a 7-2 loss. The month of July has not been kind to Wakefield. So far this month he has pitched only 15 2/3 innings, giving up 14 earned runs to total a hefty 8.04 ERA.

The Athletics have a few hitters with some success against Wakefield in the past. Jack Cust, in 25 plate appearances, has an impressive .455 average to go along with three doubles and three RBI. Kurt Suzuki has a .400 average in 16 plate appearances to go with a double and two home runs.

Toeing the rubber for the A’s will be 26-year-old Dallas Braden. Since throwing the 19th perfect game in MLB history on May 9, Braden (4-7, 3.83 ERA) has struggled. That historic outing against Tampa Bay was his last win, as he has lost five decisions since. He does have an impressive numbers at home, compiling a 3-4 record and a 3.15 ERA. With Braden coming off the disabled list and having not pitched since June 22, it will be interesting to see how many pitches the A’s will afford the young left-hander.

The Red Sox look will look to build on Monday night’s win and sustain some sort of momentum. With players returning from the disabled list, it is only a matter of time before the core of the team is back together, making a collective push for the postseason.

Red Sox vs. Dallas Braden

Adrian Beltre (11 career plate appearances against Braden): .400 average/.455OBP/.900 slugging, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 4 RBI, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Marco Scutaro (11): .545/.545/.636, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 strikeout

David Oriz (5): .200/.200/.200, 1 RBI, 1 strikeout

Kevin Youkilis (5): .600/.600/1.400, 1 double, 1 home run, 2 RBI, 1 strikeout

J.D. Drew (3): .333/.333/.333, 1 hit

Ryan Shealy (2): .500/.500/.500, 1 hit

The Oakland starter has never faced Dusty Brown, Mike Cameron, Kevin Cash, Bill Hall, Darnell McDonald, Gustavo Molina, Daniel Nava and Eric Patterson.

Athletics vs. Tim Wakefield

Mark Ellis (32 career plate appearances against Wakefield): .333 average/.438 OBP/.519 slugging, 2 doubles, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts

Jack Cust (25): .455/.520/.591, 3 doubles, 3 RBI, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts

Gabe Gross (16): .333/.375/.600, 1 double, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Kurt Suzuki (16): .400/.438/.867, 1 double, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Ryan Sweeney (14): .154/.214/.154, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Daric Barton (8): .000/.125/.000, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Kevin Kouzmanoff (5): .200/.200/.200, 1 strikeout

Coco Crisp (4): .000/.000/.000

Rajai Davis (3): .000/.000/.000, 2 strikeouts

Landon Powell (3): .333/.333/.333, 1 hit, 1 RBI

Cliff Pennington is hitless in two plate appearances against Wakefield. The Boston starter has never faced Matt Carson, Adam Rosales and Matt Watson.