Boston @ Texas preview
Choctaw Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 14, 2010 ) Boston 3, Texas 1
No team in baseball has been more resilient than the Boston Red Sox this season.
Despite a rash of injuries that would have crippled most clubs, the Red Sox have managed to stay in contention in the powerhouse American League East Division.
Boston again showed its mettle in a big spot Saturday night, getting eight shutout innings from Jon Lester in a 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers in the second of a three-game set.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (8-3) takes the mound Sunday looking to snatch a series win for the Red Sox, who remain six games back of the AL East-leading New York Yankees and four behind Tampa Bay for the wild-card spot.
Lester's superlative outing couldn't have come at a better time for Boston, which had been staggered by back-to-back walk-off losses entering Saturday's contest.
But the Red Sox refuse to wilt, even after coughing up a six-run lead in the series opener vs. Texas and having to place outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury on the disabled list Saturday with bruised ribs.
Ellsbury is among seven Boston players currently residing on the DL, which has been about the norm for the season considering that the Red Sox had 11 players disabled at one point earlier in the year.
That includes Matsuzaka, who missed the first month of the season and has had two stints on the disabled list this season.
The Japanese right-hander has had a wildly inconsistent season, marked by ongoing control issues, but he carries a three-game winning streak into today's contest and has not lost since June 30.
Pitching away from home certainly should not be a problem for Matsuzaka, who has made 10 of his 17 starts away from Fenway Park, going 4-1 with five no-decisions. He is 3-1 with a 5.09 ERA in four career starts against the Rangers.
Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton, who leads the majors in batting with a .364 average and is 6-for-9 in the series with two homers, has faced Matsuzaka just twice, going 0-for-2.
C.J. Wilson (10-5), who has made a seamless transition from the bullpen to starter, will look to beat the Red Sox for the third time this season.
The 29-year-old left-hander had one of his better efforts of the year at Boston on July 18, allowing one run on three hits and striking out a season-high 10 in 6 2/3 innings.
Wilson also turned in a stellar performance at Fenway in April, tossing 6 2/3 innings of four-hit shutout ball in a 3-0 victory.
Texas, which holds a 7 ½-game lead in the AL West, got a solid start from Colby Lewis on Saturday. He allowed just one run on six hits and fanned nine in 6 2/3 innings.
Boston carried a 1-0 lead into the ninth before scoring a pair of insurance runs off Darren O’Day, snapping the submarine-style right-hander’s major league-leading scoreless streak at 26 1/3 innings.