Boston @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Sep 28, 2013 ) Boston 5, Baltimore 6
The Boston Red Sox already clinched home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and are only interested in keeping their players sharp the rest of the way. Several regulars figure to get time off when the Red Sox visit the Baltimore Orioles in the regular-season finale on Sunday. Boston clinched the American League's top seed when the Oakland Athletics lost on Saturday afternoon, thus giving David Ortiz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jacoby Ellsbury Saturday night off.
Those three will probably be back in the lineup on Sunday, with a few others taking their place on the bench. The Orioles are not giving up and will start staff ace Chris Tillman in the finale despite having nothing left for which to play. The Red Sox will host the winner of the one-game wild-card playoff in Game 1 of the division series on Friday.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), MASN (Baltimore)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH John Lackey (10-13, 3.52 ERA) vs. Orioles RH Chris Tillman (16-7, 3.62)
Lackey is making his final postseason tune-up and trying to end the campaign with a win after allowing four runs on six hits over six innings to suffer a loss at Colorado on Tuesday. The veteran dominated the Orioles in his previous start on Sept. 19, yielding one run in a two-hit complete game. Lackey is 13-5 with 3.35 ERA in 23 career starts against Baltimore.
Tillman is hoping for some run support to snap out of a three-start winless streak. The All-Star struck out nine and surrendered only one run in seven innings against Toronto on Tuesday but came up without a decision. Tillman held Boston to three runs on seven hits in as many innings on Sept. 19 but came up with the loss opposite Lackey’s gem.
WALK-OFFS
1. Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia (.301) and OF Daniel Nava (.303) both raised their batting averages over .300 with big nights in Saturday’s 6-5 loss.
2. Baltimore LF Steve Pearce is 5-for-9 with four extra-base hits in his last four games.
3. Boston is going for its major league-leading 34th series victory in Sunday’s rubber game.
PREDICTION: Red Sox 6, Orioles 3