San Diego @ Boston preview
Fenway Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 22, 2011 ) San Diego 5, Boston 1
The San Diego Padres’ recent road woes were on display in their last contest, and they will be hard-pressed to change their fortunes as they begin a three-game series at the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday. San Diego opened a four-game set Friday against the Miami Marlins with a 9-2 victory but scored a total of three runs over the next three contests to fall to 1-5 in its last six games away from home. Monday‘s 4-0 loss was particularly humiliating, since all the runs the Padres allowed were unearned.
The Padres are unlikely to find refuge in Boston, where the Red Sox have won five of their last six and are 28-16 overall. The Red Sox (50-34) will be rested after taking three of four from the Toronto Blue Jays, including a 5-4 walkoff victory on Sunday that gave them 50 wins before the end of June for only the fourth time in team history. Boston, which leads baseball with 431 runs scored, batted a major league-best .298 last month.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN (San Diego), NESN (Boston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Padres LH Robbie Erlin (1-0, 3.60 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH John Lackey (5-5, 2.99)
Erlin struck out seven over 6 1/3 innings in his second career start but did not factor in the decision in Wednesday’s 7-5 home setback against the Philadelphia Phillies. One of the club’s top prospects, the 22-year-old permitted three runs (two earned) on four hits and has a 2.77 ERA as a starter after making two relief appearances earlier in the season. Erlin, who was 6-2 with a 5.25 ERA at Triple-A Tucson, will make his first career road start.
With Clay Buchholz on the disabled list and Jon Lester struggling, Lackey has shown flashes of his pre-Boston days. He went 2-0 with a 3.03 ERA in June, wrapping up the month with a career high-tying 12 strikeouts over seven innings in a 5-3 home win over the Colorado Rockies. Lackey, who lost to the Padres in his only career outing against them in 2011, has turned in three consecutive seven-inning performances and lasted at least six frames in seven of his last eight turns.
WALK-OFFS
1. Boston DH David Ortiz is one shy of becoming the fifth active player and 58th major leaguer ever to hit 500 career doubles.
2. San Diego is one of five teams Lackey never has defeated.
3. Padres LF Carlos Quentin is 8-for-13 lifetime against Lackey with four home runs and seven RBIs.
PREDICTION: Red Sox 5, Padres 2