Kansas City @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( May 29, 2010 ) Kansas City 0, Boston 1
It’s been feast or famine for the Boston Red Sox starting rotation lately.
After winning seven of eight games thanks mainly to brilliant starting pitching, the Red Sox dropped the first two of a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals due to woeful starting performances.
On Saturday, however, Clay Buchholz got the Red Sox back on track with seven shutout innings in Boston’s 1-0 win. The two teams close out the series this afternoon at Fenway Park.
Jon Lester makes the start for the Red Sox. Much like Buchholz, Lester has been dominant lately.
Second in the league with 72 strikeouts, Lester has won six of his last seven games. He is 3-1 lifetime with a 1.20 ERA against the Royals.
Buchholz has become one of the Boston’s most reliable starters. On Saturday, he allowed just four singles and four walks in his stint, lowering his team-leading ERA to 2.73. Buchholz has won four straight and, like Lester, six of his last seven outings.
Boston scored the lone run of the game on an RBI grounder by Mike Lowell in the second inning. Aside from an inning that ended on a double play by Adrian Beltre, the Red Sox had very few scoring opportunities in the game started by Kansas City ace Zack Greinke.
Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 12th save and Daniel Bard pitched around a leadoff double in the eighth, getting a strikeout and then a fabulous play at second base by Dustin Pedroia to preserve the lead.
While Buchholz and Lester have been sailing along, the rest of the Red Sox rotation has had rough spots. Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield both were awful in the first two games of the series.
And Josh Beckett, who went on the 15-day disabled list last week, had his side session stopped on Saturday because the team felt he couldn’t duplicate his delivery. His return, which seemed on schedule, is now questionable.
The Royals saw their three-game winning streak come to an end Saturday, and once again they couldn’t generate any offense for Greinke, who fell to 1-6 on the season.
The Royals’ bullpen has blown three saves for the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner this season and two other times they’ve been shut out.
Gil Meche (0-4) was scheduled to make the start for Kansas City but he was placed on the disabled list for the second time this season with shoulder bursitis.
Veteran Bruce Chen (1-0) will make the start in his place. Chen has pitched well in relief this year but has thrown just 9 1/3 innings. The Royals hope to get at least four innings out of Chen and then turn it over to Brad Thompson.