Tampa Bay @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 29, 2010 ) Tampa Bay 5, Boston 8
Despite long stints on the bench, there have been no complaints from Jason Varitek. The veteran captain of the Boston Red Sox has hit the ball well for most of the season yet he’s seen only limited action.
For the next two weeks, however, Varitek will return to his familiar role as an everyday player. Varitek and the Red Sox play host to the Tampa Bay Rays in the second of a three-game series at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.
Boston won the opener Tuesday 8-5, powered by David Ortiz’s three-run homer in the fifth that broke open a scoreless tie.
Varitek is expected to see the bulk of the action at catcher after Boston placed Victor Martinez on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with a broken thumb. The way the schedule breaks, Martinez will miss only 11 games because of the upcoming All-Star break.
Varitek had two RBIs in Tuesday’s game. He’s played 14 years in the majors - all with the Red Sox - and is batting .261 with seven homers and 18 RBIs this season.
Despite the rash of injuries, Boston has won nine of its last 12 outings. The Red Sox added utilityman Eric Patterson to the roster on Tuesday. Patterson can play multiple positions and is expected to platoon a second base with Bill Hall while Dustin Pedroia heals from a broken foot. Pedroia is expected to miss at least six weeks.
In other injury news, Boston announced that Clay Buchholz will miss at least one start with a hamstring injury, and backup catcher Gustavo Molina was called up from Triple-A Pawtucket to spell Varitek. Molina is expected to make his first start Friday when he will catch knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.
The Rays are healthy but slumping.
Tampa Bay got back the services of Carl Crawford on Tuesday. Crawford missed a few games over the weekend with a sore left shoulder and responded with four hits.
Center fielder B.J. Upton was not in Tuesday’s starting lineup. Upton got into a heated dispute with teammate Evan Longoria in the dugout Sunday.
Upton and Longoria had to be separated after Longoria accused Upton of failing to run hard after a ball in center field during the Rays’ 2-1 loss to Arizona. Rays manager Joe Maddon said that he was just giving Upton a rest and not punishing him for Sunday’s escapades. Upton delivered a pinch-hit triple in the eighth inning on Tuesday.
The Rays, who have lost nine of their last 12 games, will start Matt Garza today. Garza bounced back from one of the worst outings of his career in his last start to defeat San Diego 5-3. He allowed seven runs in just 1 1/3 innings in the prior start, a 7-4 loss at Florida.
Boston goes with Daisuke Matsuzaka, who has been inconsistent but has lost just one decision in his last eight starts. He is 2-4 lifetime against the Rays.