Clay Buchholz

The Red Sox begin a nine-game homestand on Tuesday against the Angels. Clay Buchholz will be on the mound, sporting a 13-5 record and 2.49 ERA. Against the Angels this season, Buchholz has recorded two wins with a 3.55 ERA. At Fenway in 2010, he is 5-3 with a 2.81 ERA. In his last start against the Blue Jays on Aug. 11, he held the divisional foe to one run and struck out four batters.

Jered Weaver will get the nod for the Angels with a record of 11-7 and a 2.87 ERA. Weaver leads the team in ERA, and he leads the majors in strikeouts (182). In his last start, Weaver pitched eight strong innings against the Royals, allowing one earned run with two walks and 11 strikeouts.

David Ortiz has hit well against the Angels pitcher, batting .304 in 27 plate appearances with one double and two home runs.

Angels vs. Clay Buchholz

Hideki Matsui (14 career plate appearances): .417 AVG/.500 OBP/ .500 SLG, 1 double, 2 walks, 1 strikeout

Alberto Callaspo (12): .250/.250/.250, 1 RBI

Torii Hunter (12): .111/.333/.111, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts

Maicer Izturis (12): .400/.500/.600, 2 doubles, 4 RBI, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts

Bobby Abreu (11): .182/.182/.727, 2 home runs, 3 RBI

Juan Rivera (11): .200/.273/.200, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts

Erick Aybar (10): .000/.000/.000

Jeff Mathis (10): .143/.300/.143, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts

Howie Kendrick (9): .125/.111/.125, 2 RBI, 1 strikeout

Mike Napoli (6): .200/.333/.200, 3 strikeouts

Reggie Willits (3): .000/.000/.000 2 strikeouts

Cory Aldridge, Peter Bourjos, Kevin Frandsen, Paul McAnulty, Bobby Wilson and Brandon Wood have not faced the Red Sox starter.

Red Sox vs. Jered Weaver

Adrian Beltre (42 career plate appearances): .205 AVG/.238 OBP/.282 SLG, 3 doubles, 2 RBI, 8 strikeouts

David Ortiz (27): .304/.370/.609, 1 double, 2 home runs, 9 RBI, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts

Marco Scutaro (27): .269/.296/.346, 2 doubles, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts

Kevin Youkilis (26): .261/.346/.522, 2 home runs, 4 RBI, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts

J.D. Drew (18): .353/.389/.529, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Mike Lowell (17): .313/.353/.313, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Victor Martinez (15): .273/.467/.273, 1 RBI, 4 walks

Eric Patterson (13): .250/.308/.250, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (12): .222/.333/.222, 2 RBI, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts

Jacoby Ellsbury (11): .273/.273/.545, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 1 strkeout

Jed Lowrie (9): .333/.333/.667, 3 doubles, 3 RBI, 1 strikeout

Darnell McDonald (6): .400/.500/.600, 1 double, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Mike Cameron (3): .000/.000/.000, 2 strikeouts

Bill Hall (3): .000/.000/.000, 3 strikeouts

Jeremy Hermida (3): .000/.000/.000, 3 strikeouts

Kevin Cash (2): .500/.500/.500, 1 strikeout

Dusty Brown, Ryan Kalish, Gustavo Molina, Daniel Nava and Ryan Shealy have not faced the Angels starter.

Daisuke Matsuzaka

The Red Sox earned a split of their four-game series against the Yankees by winning Monday, 2-1. On Tuesday, they begin a three-game set against a Blue Jays team that has won five of its last six — against the Rays and Yankees.

The Sox will send Daisuke Matsuzaka to the mound with a record of 8-3 and a 3.96 ERA. Against the Blue Jays in his career, Matsuzaka is 6-1 with a 3.45 ERA.

Matsuzaka pitched well in his last two outings against the Indians and Tigers, totaling 14 innings, five earned runs and 11 strikeouts to help the Sox earn two important wins.

The Blue Jays will hand the ball to Ricky Romero, who is 9-7 with a 3.37 ERA. The Sox have hit well against Romero, especially David Ortiz, who in 14 plate appearances has a .462 batting average with three doubles, a home run and five RBI.

Romero’s best outing of the season came against the Yankees on Aug. 3, when he pitched a complete game and held his opponent to two runs.

Read the rest of this entry »

Daisuke Matsuzaka

The Sox and Indians will conclude their four-game series on Thursday with Daisuke Matsuzaka opposing 25-year-old rookie right-hander Josh Tomlin.

Matsuzaka enters the game with a 7-3 record and a 4.22 ERA. He has pitched well lately but has not recorded a win in his last two starts, since a July 19 win over the A’s. Matsuzaka beat the Indians on June 7, going eight innings and allowing four hits and no runs in a 4-1 Sox win. That upped his career mark against Cleveland to 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA. However, with the Indians having some turnover of late, Matsuzaka has faced only five players on the current roster.

Tomlin, called up from Triple-A Columbus on July 27, will make his first start against a Red Sox offense that was held to one run on Wednesday. Tomlin is 1-0 with a 1.46 ERA and looked impressive in beating the Yankees and, pitching on three days’ rest, holding the Blue Jays to one run in 5 1/3 innings in a 2-1 Indians win on July 31.

Cleveland leads the season series, 4-3. If they win Thursday night, the Indians would have a series win over the Red Sox for the first time since April 25-27, 2006, and their first series win in Boston since June 27-29, 2005.

Indians vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka

Shin-Soo Choo (7 career plate appearances against Matsuzaka): .143 average/.143 OBP/.143 slugging, 3 strikeouts

Luis Valbuena (6): .333/.333/.333, 2 strikeouts

Trevor Crowe (6): .200/.333/.200, 1 RBI, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Matt LaPorta (3): .000/.000/.000, 1 strikeout

Jason Donald (3): .333/.333/.333

Chris Gimenez, Lou Marson, Asdrubal Cabrera, Andy Marte, Jayson Nix, Shelley Duncan and Jordan Brown have never faced the Red Sox starter.

Red Sox vs. Josh Tomlin

No current Red Sox batters have faced the Indians pitcher.

Clay Buchholz

Following a ninth-inning rally on Saturday, the Red Sox look to capture the three-game series against the Tigers on Sunday.

Clay Buchholz will take his record of 11–5 and 2.71 ERA to the mound and face a talented Tigers offense. Miguel Cabrera has faced the righty eight times in career, but Ryan Raburn has had the most success against the Sox All-Star, having homered against him.

This start marks Buchholz’ third outing since the All-Star break and returning from the DL. In his last start, Buchholz defeated the Mariners on July 26 by striking out seven batters and allowing one run.

As for the Tigers, Justin Verlander gets the nod with a record of 12-6 and 3.74 ERA. Verlander, who ranks fifth in the AL in strikeouts with 130, will need to slow down David Ortiz, Victor Martinez and the rest of a Sox lineup that has hit well against the Tigers pitcher.

Tigers vs. Clay Buchholz

Miguel Cabrera (8 career plate appearances against Buchholz): .125 average/.222 OBP/ .125 slugging, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Gerald Laird (7): .143/. 250/. 143, 1 walk

Johnny Damon (5): .200/ .333/ .400, 1 double, 1 walk

Jhonny Peralta (4): .500/. 400/. 500, 3 RBI, 1 strikeout

Ryan Raburn (3): .667/. 667/ 1.667, 1 home run, 2 RBI

Brennan Boesch (3): .333/. 333/. 333, 1 RBI

Austin Jackson (2): .000/ .333/ .000, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Ramon Santiago (1): .000/. 500/.000, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

The Boston starter has never faced Magglio Ordonez, Brandon Inge, Adam Everett, Alex Avila, Don Kelly and Carlos Guillen.

Red Sox vs. Justin Verlander

Victor Martinez (43 career plate appearances against Verlander): .302 average/ .318 OBP/ .651 slugging, 3 doubles, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts

Adrian Beltre (25): .240/. 240/. 440, 2 doubles, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 6 strikeouts

Marco Scuatro (19): .211/ .250/ .368, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts

David Ortiz (10): .300/ .417/ .700, 1 double, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts

Kevin Youkilis (10): .400/ .400/ 1.000, 2 HR, 3 RBI

J.D. Drew (6): .333/ .333/ .333, 1 RBI, 2 strikeouts

Mike Cameron (2): .500/ .667/ .500, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Eric Patterson (1): .000/ .000/ .000, 1 strikeout

Bill Hall (0): .000/ 1.000/ .000, 3 walks

The Detroit starter has never faced Darnell McDonald, Kevin Cash, Ryan Kalish, Eric Patterson and Jed Lowrie.

John Lackey

Following a 2-5 start after the All-Star break, the Red Sox look to rebound Thursday night as they begin a four-game series against the Mariners in Seattle.

The Sox will hand the ball to John Lackey, who sports a 9-5 record with a 4.65 ERA. In his last start against the Rangers on July 17, Lackey got a no-decision in the Sox’ only win in the four-game series. He allowed seven hits and two runs while striking out three.

The Mariners will turn to Ryan Rowland-Smith, who holds a 1-9 record with a 6.18 ERA. The Australian’s only win this season came on June 20, when he defeated the Reds during interleague play. In four starts this month, Rowland-Smith has allowed 26 hits, 17 runs and three home runs.

Kevin Youkilis has experienced great success against the Mariners pitcher, with two doubles and four RBI. The Sox will need Youkilis to help spark an offense that only recorded 10 runs in three games against the A’s.

Thursday’s game marks the first meeting between the two clubs this year. In 2009, the Mariners won the series 4-2.

Red Sox vs. Ryan Rowland-Smith

Marco Scutaro (5 plate appearances): .200 AVG./.200 OBP/.200 SLG, 1 strikeout

David Ortiz (4): .250/.250/.250, 2 strikeouts

Kevin Youkilis (4): .500/.500/1.000, 2 doubles, 4 RBI, 1 strikeout

Ryan Shealy (3): .333/.333/1.333, 1 HR, 1 RBI

J.D. Drew (1): .000/.500/.000, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Kevin Cash (1): .000/.000/.000, 1 strikeout

The Mariners starter has never faced Adrian Beltre, Bill Hall, Darnell McDonald, Jed Lowrie, Mike Cameron and Dusty Brown.

Mariners vs. John Lackey

Ichiro Suzuki (85 plate appearances): .306 AVG/.330 OBP/.376 SLG, 3 doubles, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 2 walks, 14 strikeouts

Jose Lopez (40): .300/.317/.425, 2 doubles, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 6 strikeouts

Milton Bradley (17): .176/.364/.294, 2 doubles, 5 walks, 6 strikeouts

Franklin Gutierrez (11): .182/.250/.182, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Russell Branyan (6): .500/.500/1.167, 1 double, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 strikeouts

Josh Wilson (5): .000/.167/.000, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Jack Wilson (3): .333/.333/.333, 1 strikeout

Josh Bard (3): .333/.333/.333, 1 strikeout

Ryan Langerhans (3): .000/.000/.000, 2 strikeouts

Casey Kotchman (3): .333/.333/.333, 1 strikeout

Rob Johnson (2): .000/.333/.000, 1 walks

The Red Sox starter has never faced Chone Figgins, Justin Smoak and Michael Saunders.

Buster Olney

ESPN’s Buster Olney joined Dennis & Callahan on Thursday to discuss the current rumors and speculations regarding the Red Sox. With the MLB trade deadline rapidly approaching, Olney discussed a few names that the Sox may explore and talked about the possibility of the club picking up David Ortiz’ option in 2011.

On if general manager Theo Epstein has to make a decision to be a buyer, seller or an obtainer:

“I do think he has that decision, and I do think that is kind of what they’ve been waiting on. Give it more time to decide whether to pour resources into the 2010 team to make sure they are not in a situation where they are pouring paint down a hole. … And it’s interesting because the Phillies are in the same situation where they are kind of sitting there saying, ‘You know what, lets see if we can add guys who cannot only help us, maybe get back into this thing in 2010, but guys who can help us next year.’ That’s why a Corey Hart might be a good fit for the Red Sox, and I know yesterday activity around the Brewers outfielder really picked up a lot more.

“And maybe if they start to fall out of it a little bit more, maybe they get less interested in a guy like Scott Downs, the reliever from Toronto who is a free agent at the end of this year. Go for the guys who have four to five years of service time rather than go for players who are going to be eligible for free agency in the fall.”

On if the Sox will be fine with just having their injured players return and not making a trade:

“I also think another factor is they have to look at the landscape of their division and say, ‘You know what, even if we add something, we spend resources to improve the 2010 team, bottom line is we maybe chasing the two best teams in baseball.’ That’s a dynamic they have to deal with and I think the GMs in the other divisions really don’t have to worry about.” Read the rest of this entry »

ESPN baseball analyst J.P. Ricciardi joined The Big Show on Friday to discuss the All-Star Game, address possible MLB deadline trades, and give some insight of what its like to be a general manager in the big leagues.

Following is a transcript. To hear the interview, visit The Big Show audio on demand page.

Are you happy baseball is back?

That Wednesday after the All-Star Game is a tough day. It’s like the end of the season. No more box scores, you go into withdrawal.

What do you think of the Red Sox?

Well, obviously, I think this is the greatest test they are going to have in the course of the year, they have done an unbelievable job up to this point. I think their mettle is going to get tested with the road trip, but I wouldn’t put anything past these guys. They’ve done a great job. I think Theo [Epstein] is going to be working the lines to make the club better and maybe some smaller moves, maybe something in the bullpen, maybe another bat in the outfield. I don’t think you will see anything major.

Obviously, the guys coming back are going to be an addition to the club to help them, within a two-week period, three-week period, whatever it is, but this is going to happen to be the time where everybody just pulls it up and pulls together and tries to get through it. I don’t see a major move coming. I just think they are pretty happy with what they have coming back and this is the time that is going to try what their mettle is all about. They have done such a great job up to this point.

Where are the GMs at with the trade deadline?

I think it all comes down to the individual team and the player and what there level of interest of certain guys are, and obviously I have to believe if Prince Fielder is going to be moved then the bar is going to be set really high. If you are talking about so many middle relievers out there and you find one you think is a better fit for your club and its not going to cost you a lot, that trade would probably be done real quick. I think from a standpoint of where teams are in trades, you know there are a lot of conversations that just go on that just keep leading to, Can we keep making progress, and sometime trades get pulled off the table and they are back on within two or three days because the other route didn’t just through.

Every trade is an individual trade, has its own body of work to it. Some take a long time, some take a short time, some are dead, some come back to life. That’s a great thing about the trade deadline. Obviously, it gets closer to you as you push for it, and as I think you get to those last four or five days the posturing is done and really the guns are out, ready to go. Read the rest of this entry »