| Wednesday’s Red Sox-Rangers matchups: Josh Beckett vs. Matt Harrison | 08.24.11 at 12:00 pm ET |
The Red Sox and Rangers will play the third game of a four-game set Wednesday night in Arlington as Boston tries overtake the Yankees atop the AL East and turn around the season series with Texas. The Red Sox will send ace Josh Beckett to the mound, while the Rangers answer with Matt Harrison.
Thanks to another solid outing last Thursday, Beckett (10-5, 2.46 ERA) has now recorded quality starts in six of his last seven appearances. The right-hander held the Royals to three runs on seven hits over seven innings, and kept his ERA among the top four in the major leagues. It was an encouraging bounce-back performance after a five-run, eight-hit loss against Seattle on August 13.
Beckett hasn’t faced the Rangers in over a year, dating back to a wild, 11-inning loss on Aug. 23, 2010, in Arlington. Beckett allowed six runs on 10 hits, including three home runs, and was pulled after five innings. The Red Sox clawed back thanks to a seven-run fourth inning, but Texas had the last laugh on a Nelson Cruz walk-off home run.
The Boston starter has been effective regardless of where he pitches this year, although his home ERA is nearly a full point better than his road ERA. The right-hander has performed well against lefties, holding them to a .185 average and .253 on-base percentage. However, nine of the 15 home runs Beckett’s allowed have come against left-handed hitting.
Texas is hitting a combined .286 with six home runs in 129 plate appearances against Beckett. Reigning 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton (who was at the heart of a fascinating debate about whether he or Beckett should be drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 draft) leads the team with two home runs, six RBIs and a .500 average in 13 plate appearances against the Boston starter. Endy Chavez is hitting .360 with two doubles in his team-high 25 matchups with Beckett, while Michael Young has struggled with just three hits in 23 plate appearances.
The Rangers seem to love when Harrison (10-8, 3.28 ERA) takes the mound, at least over the past two months. Dating back to July 5, Texas has won eight out of Harrison’s last nine starts. Last month, the left-hander went 3-0 with a 2.04 ERA. In four August starts, however, Harrison has struggled to a 5.16 ERA. Still, the Rangers have turned up the offensive firepower as of late, averaging 7.66 runs in their last three games.
Despite the team’s success, Harrison was unable to get through the sixth inning in either of his last two starts. Against the White Sox on August 19, he was pulled in the fifth after giving up three runs on four hits while walking three. On August 14 in Oakland, Harrison allowed six runs on four hits and walked three more. Granted, both of those starts came on the road, and Harrison has been a better pitcher at home. In 12 starts at the Ballpark in Arlington, he’s posted a 3.15 ERA, compared to 3.42 on the road.
The 25-year-old has allowed just one home run this month, which is a major improvement from earlier in the season, when he allowed six home runs in seven starts in April and May. Harrison is a southpaw, but he’s actually performed better against right-handed hitting this year. Lefties are hitting .289 off Harrison, while righties are at .242. Still, the Red Sox’ lefty-heavy lineup wasn’t able to do much against the Texas starter back on April 3, when Harrison allowed just one run over seven innings in a 5-1 win.
As a team, the Red Sox are hitting .175 against Harrison in 64 combined plate appearances. Darnell McDonald has the lone Boston home run to go along with two walks in five plate appearances. Mike Aviles has a team-high 12 matchups with Harrison, but he’s just 1-for-12 with two strikeouts. David Ortiz has the best numbers against the Texas starter, hitting .429 in eight plate appearances.
Red Sox vs. Harrison
Mike Aviles (12 plate appearances): .083 BA/.083 OBP/.083 SLG, 1 RBI, 2 strikeouts
David Ortiz (8): 3-for-7, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Dustin Pedroia (8): 1-for-7, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Marco Scutaro (7): 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 1 strikeout
Carl Crawford (6): 2-for-6, 1 RBI, 3 strikeouts
Jed Lowrie (6): 1-for-6, 1 RBI, 1 strikeout
Darnell McDonald (5): 1-for-3, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 1 strikeout
Jacoby Ellsbury (4): 0-for-4, 1 strikeout
Adrian Gonzalez (3): 0-for-3, 2 strikeouts
Jarrod Saltalamacchia (3): 0-for-3, 1 strikeout
Jason Varitek (2): 0-for-2, 1 strikeout
Rangers vs. Beckett
Endy Chavez (25): .360 BA/.360 OBP/.520 SLG, 2 triples, 2 RBIs, 4 strikeouts
Michael Young (23): .136/.130/.273, 1 home run, 3 RBIs, 4 strikeouts
Mike Napoli (18): .188/.278/.625, 1 double, 2 home runs, 3 RBIs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts
Josh Hamilton (13): .500/.538/1.000, 2 home runs, 6 RBI, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Yorvit Torrealba (13): .308/.308/.615, 1 strikeout
Elvis Andrus (10): .286/.444/.286, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 1 strikeout
Nelson Cruz (9): 1-for-8, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Ian Kinsler (6): 2-for-6, 2 doubles, 1 RBI, 2 strikeouts
David Murphy (6): 2-for-4, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 RBI, 2 walk
Omar Quintanilla (4): 0-for-4
Mitch Moreland (2): 2-for-2, 1 home run, 2 RBIs
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