Cleveland @ Boston preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 4, 2010 ) Cleveland 9, Boston 1

Boston's starting pitching was supposed to be its strength against the Cleveland Indians, but that sure wasn't the case Wednesday night.

Daisuke Matsuzaka will try to get the Red Sox back on track Thursday as he leads them into the finale of their four-game series with the Indians at Fenway Park. The Indians counter with Josh Tomlin.

Any hopes the Red Sox have of getting back in the American League playoff picture rests with their pitching staff. Wednesday night, their most reliable hurler lost his fourth straight game.

Jon Lester's woes, coupled with the multitude of Boston injuries, have many Red Sox fans thinking about next year. Lester and the Red Sox were hammered by the Indians 9-1 on Wednesday. Lester allowed four runs on seven hits in five-plus innings.

Lester was visited twice by the Red Sox trainer after doing some stretching on the mound in between batters.

While an injury to Lester was not announced, it seems more likely that Kevin Youkilis will miss the rest of the season. Youkilis visited another hand specialist on Wednesday and surgery seems likely.

The news wasn't all bad for the Red Sox. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury returned to the lineup after missing more than two months with fractured ribs. He went 0-for-5 on the night.

Matsuzaka (7-3) is 3-1 lifetime against the Indians, including a 4-1 earlier this season. In that game, Matsuzaka hurled a season-high eight innings and allowed just four hits and two walks.

Control issues have plagued Matsuzaka throughout his major league career and things haven't been much better lately. He has walked nine batters in his last 18 innings, spanning three appearances.

While Thursday's game against the Indians is certainly important, Boston fans are already looking ahead to the team's four-game series at Yankee Stadium this weekend. Boston trails New York by 6 1/2 games and, with a lineup decimated by injuries, the Red Sox could fall out of the race completely by Monday.

Even general manager Theo Epstein admitted he has been shocked by the onslaught of injuries, calling it a repeat of August of 1996 when Boston lost several key players and fell out of the race. That was the last time that the Red Sox missed the playoffs, as they were swept in a four-game series by the Yankees to knock them from contention in the AL East.

Cleveland has won two of three games in the series and got a three-run homer from Andy Marte to put things away Wednesday. Justin Masterson got the win, his second of the season against his former team. Masterson had shut out the Red Sox for 14 straight innings before David Ortiz homered in the sixth inning.

Tomlin (1-0) has been impressive in his two major league starts. He beat the Yankees 4-1 in his debut, limiting the Bombers to just three hits and one run over seven innings.

He then took a no-decision in Cleveland's 2-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Tomlin allowed one run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings in that game.