Texas @ Boston preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 22, 2010 ) Texas 3, Boston 0

Two teams in the thick of pennant races begin a four-game series to start the second half of the season at Fenway Park Thursday night.

The wounded Boston Red Sox will start struggling Tim Wakefield against the financially distraught Texas Rangers, who send undefeated Tommy Hunter to the mound.

Wakefield could be the odd man out when the Red Sox rotation finally gets healthy. With Josh Beckett continuing his rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket and Clay Buchholz scheduled to join him soon, Wakefield might soon find himself in the bullpen.

The veteran knuckleballer has won just once this season at Fenway Park and is 2-5 with a 5.96 ERA in his last eight starts.

Hunter is been a pleasant surprise for the Rangers. He has won five of his seven starts on the season while boasting a 2.34 ERA. Hunter is 1-1 lifetime against the Red Sox.

The Red Sox limped into the All-Star break with a variety of ailments. With 11 players on the disabled list, Boston surely needs to get healthy quickly to remain in contention in the American League East. The Red Sox currently trail the New York Yankees by five games for the division lead and the Tampa Bay Rays by three games in the wild-card race.

Among Boston's biggest concerns is second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who has already missed three weeks with a broken bone in his foot. The second baseman was scheduled for CT scan this week to view the progress of his injury and is expected to miss at least three more weeks.

The Red Sox will be watching the minor leagues closely the next three days. Reliever Manny Delcarmen will pitch Thursday in a Double-A game. Beckett throws Friday in Pawtucket and Buchholz will pitch there on Saturday. Both Beckett and Buchholz could return to the parent club next week if things go well.

Despite filing for bankruptcy in May the Rangers have the biggest division lead in baseball at 4 1/2 games over the Los Angeles Angels.

They also added Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee as they look to earn their first playoff series victory in franchise history. Lee appeared headed for the Yankees before Rangers general manager Jon Daniels swooped in at the last minute and nabbed the former Seattle hurler in a six-player deal.

Lee lost to the Baltimore Orioles in his Rangers debut 6-1 on Saturday. He'll pitch at Fenway Park on Saturday against John Lackey.

The Rangers had already added veteran catcher Bengie Molina from the San Francisco Giants.

Texas is riding a four-game losing streak. The Rangers were swept at home by the lowly Orioles before the All-Star break.