Editor's note: The temperature gauge is a Bill James-created statistic that measures how hot or cold hitters are. We will spotlight Red Sox and opposing team temperatures on game days.
The Red Sox are entering the do-or-die portion of their schedule, and with too many more games like Tuesday night's 7-1 loss to the Orioles, Boston likely will not continue playing baseball into October.
That being said, a quarter of the season remains. Stranger things have happened — as the Red Sox unfortunately learned last year — and many of their remaining games are against teams that are ahead of them for a playoff spot. Of course, they still have to beat said teams, but they can start Wednesday night by getting a measure of revenge against Baltimore.
Leading the charge at the plate for Boston at the moment is Dustin Pedroia, who has been treating Red Sox Nation to a vintage laser show as of late. The second baseman has hit safely in his last nine games, and he's had two or more hits in six of those. All told, he's batting .471 during his hitting streak, with four RBIs, eight runs scored and a pair of stolen bases thrown in for good measure.
Adrian Gonzalez has continued his second-half resurgence as well, vaulting himself into sixth in the league in RBIs and 11th in batting average. He's swatted a hit in all but two August games, sporting a .388 average and 1.199 OPS on the month. In his last six games alone, he's driven in 11 runs and scored six times.
Meanwhile, in the other dugout, Mark Reynolds is Baltimore's hottest hitter heading into Wednesday's action. Reynolds clobbered two home runs in the Orioles' win on Tuesday, driving in four. He's hit safely in five out of his last six games — good for a .364 average — while hitting three homers, collecting seven RBIs and scoring six times.
Here are the Red Sox and Orioles temperatures for Wednesday, Aug. 15.
Red Sox
Dustin Pedroia, 97
Carl Crawford, 83
Adrian Gonzalez, 83
Cody Ross, 81
Jacoby Ellsbury, 75
Pedro Ciriaco, 69
Scott Podsednik, 69
Danny Valencia, 65
Mike Aviles, 65
Nick Punto, 64
Ryan Lavarnway, 57
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, 55
Orioles
Mark Reynolds, 85
Omar Quintanilla, 81
Manny Machado, 79
Matt Wieters, 78
Wilson Betemit, 73
Adam Jones, 71
Nate McLouth, 71
Nick Markakis, 70
Lew Ford, 66
Chris Davis, 59
Taylor Teagarden, 56
Robert Andino, 54
J.J. Hardy, 53
