After losing nine of their previous 11 games, the Red Sox unleashed some offensive frustration on Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Rays, scoring nine runs on ten hits. That output included home runs by Stephen Drew and Will Middlebrooks, whose improved production at the plate will go a long way to permanently ending Boston’s skid.
On the hill for the Sox on Thursday will be Felix Doubront, who’s largely struggled so far this year, owning a 1.82 WHIP and allowing 43 hits in just 32 1/3 innings of work. The radar gun tells us that Doubront’s velocity has been a bit down from the mid-90s speed Sox fans are used to seeing, so that will be something to keep an eye on.
Opposing Doubront will be Alex Cobb, who is, in fact, a Boston native. The 25-year-old right-hander is already a full 1.2 wins above replacement so far in 2013, sporting a 4-2 record and 3.09 ERA. However, one of those two losses came at the hands of the Red Sox back on April 14, as Cobb yielded three runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings at Fenway Park.
Check out Thursday’s lineups for both the Red Sox and Rays below.
Boston Red Sox
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Daniel Nava, LF
Stephen Drew SS
Will Middlebrooks 3B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
Felix Doubront, LHP
Tampa Bay Rays
Desmond Jennings, CF
Adam Scott, DH
Ben Zobrist, RF
Evan Longoria, 3B
Yunel Escobar, SS
James Loney, 1B
Sean Rodriguez, LF
Jose Lobaton, C
Ryan Roberts, 2B
Alex Cobb, RHP
