Philadelphia @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 12, 2010 ) Philadelphia 2, Boston 10
In his last start, Cole Hamels carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning.
At this point, the Philadelphia Phillies would be thrilled if he lasted past the third inning Sunday.
Charlie Manuel's club has been blasted from the get-go by the Boston Red Sox in the first two games of their interleague series. Boston has scored 20 of its 22 total runs in the first three innings of both contests.
The horrid back-to-back displays by Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton represented the first time that Philadelphia starters allowed nine or more runs in consecutive games since July 8-9, 1993. For you trivia buffs, Danny Jackson and Ben Rivera were the unfortunate victims in that series as the San Francisco Giants slugged the Fightin' Phils all over Veterans Stadium.
Fast-forward back to Saturday. Daniel Nava provided the fireworks when he belted a grand slam in his first major league at-bat as the Red Sox (37-27) recorded 16 hits and cruised to a 10-2 victory.
Called up from Triple-A Pawtucket prior to the contest, the 27-year-old Nava deposited the first pitch he saw from Blanton over the right-field fence in the second inning. The blast gave Boston a quick 5-2 lead.
With the bullpen taxed from the series opener, Blanton was left to fend for himself - and the Red Sox took turns taking him to task. In all, every member of Boston's starting lineup had at least one hit in the onslaught.
In the series opener on Friday, David Ortiz had a pair of RBI doubles and a two-run single as Boston belted a season-high eight doubles and cruised to a 12-2 triumph.
Mike Lowell blasted a two-run homer to cap a five-run first inning to stake the Red Sox to yet another early lead Friday. The battering continued, and the 47-year-old Moyer was left with the worst outing of his career as he was chased from the game without recording an out in the second inning.
Hamels (5-5, 3.98 ERA) will look to help Philadelphia prevent such a pronounced deficit and salvage today’s finale of its three-game series. The free-falling Phillies have dropped 16 of their last 23 games.
The 2008 World Series Most Valuable Player has been a victim of Philadelphia's sputtering offense as of late. Case in point is Hamels' last outing. The 26-year-old southpaw carried a no-hitter into the seventh before permitting back-to-back homers to San Diego Padres slugger Adrian Gonzalez and Scott Hairston.
Hamels quickly settled down, but the damage was done. The Phillies were able to scratch out a run in the ninth, but ultimately dropped a 2-1 decision.
Boston will counter with Tim Wakefield (2-4, 5.48), who pitched eight shutout innings in a May 23 victory over the Phillies. Boston's all-time innings leader, Wakefield held the Cleveland Indians to just one earned run on four hits over 7 1/3 innings in his last outing.
The veteran knuckleballer will be trying for his first win at Fenway in nearly one year. Wakefield, 43, is 0-4 with a gaudy 6.85 ERA in nine appearances in Boston since defeating the Oakland Athletics on July 8, 2009.