Boston @ Colorado preview
Coors Field
Last Meeting ( Oct 28, 2007 ) Boston 4, Colorado 3
The Boston Red Sox have shown they can beat up on the best - and worst - teams that the National League has to offer.
Now they get the chance to show whether they are able to do it away from the friendly confines of Fenway Park.
The surging Red Sox roll into Coors Field riding a six-game winning streak as they open a three-game series with the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.
It is the beginning of a stretch that could make or break Boston's season - a season that took a marked uptick following an 8-1 homestand that pulled the Red Sox within one game of the front-running New York Yankees in the AL East.
Boston, which plays 22 of its next 31 games on the road, will be facing its third consecutive opponent from the NL West, following successive three-game sweeps of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers.
After a dismal 4-9 start to the season, the Red Sox have gone 39-19 and are tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for the second-best record in baseball at 43-28.
Among the biggest reasons for the resurgence is left-hander Jon Lester, who will get the start in Tuesday’s series opener. Lester (8-2) carries an eight-game winning streak into the contest and hasn’t lost since April 18.
He has faced the Rockies just once in his career – a game that left an enduring mark on both franchises.
Lester got the start in Game 4 of the 2007 World Series against the Rockies, allowing three hits in 5 2/3 scoreless innings as the Red Sox completed a sweep for their second championship in four years.
And the 26-year-old lefty is a much better pitcher now than the last time Colorado saw him. Since that series clincher, Lester has gone a sensational 39-16 in the past two-plus seasons. In his last outing, he allowed two runs and four hits in seven innings in a 6-2 victory over Arizona.
Rookie Jhoulys Chacin (3-6) will oppose Lester. The pitchers have one thing in common, sharing the same birthday, but Chacin’s season is going completely in the opposite direction.
The 22-year-old righty has lost his last four starts and six of his last seven. He has been hampered by control issues, walking 18 batters in his last 28 2/3 innings spanning six starts, and has not pitched more than six innings since May 8.
Both teams are expected to welcome back injured players on Tuesday.
Red Sox right fielder J.D. Drew missed the final two games of the weekend series against the Dodgers with a strained hamstring.
Colorado, meanwhile, is expected to activate closer Huston Street from the disabled list. Street has yet to pitch this season while battling shoulder and groin injuries.
He converted 35 of 37 save chances a year ago with the Rockies but is not expected to step into the closer’s role immediately.