Los Angeles @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( Mar 30, 2008 ) Boston 0, LA Dodgers 8
Expect the unexpected when Manny Ramirez returns to Fenway Park for the first time since he was traded by the Boston Red Sox in 2008.
How the fans react and how Ramirez performs is anyone’s guess as the Los Angeles Dodgers begin a three-game interleague series in Boston on Friday night.
Ramirez played over seven seasons with the Red Sox and helped them to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007. In his Red Sox career, he batted .312 with 274 homers and 868 RBIs and is among the team’s all-time leaders in many offensive categories.
Ramirez’s antics have become part of baseball lore with the Red Sox. He once high-fived a fan in Baltimore after making a leaping catch before throwing the ball in to finish a double play.
He also clashed with teammates over the years, the final confrontation leading to his trade when he refused to play, citing a knee injury. Ramirez was shown on television replays limping on one leg in one instance and then limping on the other on the next.
After the team sent Ramirez for an MRI exam that revealed no damage, some teammates finally relayed their views to management that Ramirez be traded away for the good of the team.
Still, how the fans greet him will be fascinating. Ramirez went from crowd favorite to outcast and how he is remembered differs for much of Red Sox Nation.
Ramirez, who has had his share of laughs and gaffes in left field, is expected to serve as the designated hitter in the series. He’s been hitting well as of late, going 7-for-13 with two homers and five RBIs. On Thursday, he appeared as a pinch hitter and grounded out with the bases loaded and two outs.
Tonight’s pitching matchup will also be a mystery. Felix Doubront, a 22-year-old Venezuelan, will make his first major league start for Boston in place of the injured Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Doubront was 6-1 with a 2.11 ERA in eight minor league starts between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket.
The Dodgers will counter with former reliever Carlos Monasterios, who is 3-1 with a 2.98 ERA.
Los Angeles will be without shortstop Rafael Furcal, who went on the bereavement list before Thursday’s game. Furcal went home to the Dominican Republic to be with a sick relative. Minor league player of the year Chin-lung Hu was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to take his place.
After capping a three-game sweep against Arizona on Thursday, Boston is now 5-1 on its homestand with three games left to play and is 7-2 in interleague games.
The Red Sox are just two games out of first place in the American League East.