When and Where
7:05 p.m. ET (NESN), Sept. 19, 2009
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Md.
Records
Red Sox (87-59, 2nd place in AL East)
Orioles (60-87, 5th place in AL East)
Skinny
The Sox have won six consecutive games against the O’s, nine of their last 10, 14 of 16, 17 of 19 and 21 of 24 games since July 12, 2008. The Sox have won 10 straight series against the O’s and last lost a series to Baltimore on May 13-14, 2008, at Camden Yards. They last lost a three-game set to the O’s Aug. 10-12, 2007, in Baltimore.
Starting Lineups
Note: Late lineup change for Red Sox
| Red Sox | Orioles |
|---|---|
| Jacoby Ellsbury, CF | Brian Roberts, 2B |
| Dustin Pedroia, 2B | Cesar Izturis, SS |
| Victor Martinez, C | Matt Wieters, DH |
| Kevin Youkilis, 1B | Nick Markakis, RF |
| David Ortiz, DH | Melvin Mora, 3B |
| J.D. Drew, RF | Ty Wigginton, 1B |
| Mike Lowell, 3B | Felix Pie, CF |
| Josh Reddick LF | Chad Moeller, C |
| Alex Gonzalez, SS | Jeff Fiorentino, LF |
Starting Pitchers
LHP Jon Lester (13-7, 3.29 ERA) vs. RHP David Hernandez (4-8, 5.40 ERA)
In his last start — the second game of a doubleheader Sept. 13 against the Rays at Fenway — Jon Lester earned the win, shutting out the Rays while allowing two hits and three walks with seven strikeouts. The outing extended his scoreless streak to a career-high 17 innings.
Lester has won each of his last six starts against the O’s this season and is undefeated in 11 career starts against them, going 9-0 with a 2.21 ERA (17 earned runs in 69 1/3 innings). He did not allow a run in his first 16 innings against the O’s this season. He has the most career wins without a loss of any pitcher ever against Baltimore. His nine-game winning streak is the longest ever by a Sox pitcher against the O’s.
David Hernandez is making his 17th start of the season. The Orioles are 2-6 in his nine starts at Camden Yards, while Hernandez is 2-4 in those games with 5.40 ERA (25 earned runs in 41 2/3 innings). Hernandez has made three starts against the Sox this season, going 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA (nine earned runs in 14 innings). He has faced the Sox once in Baltimroe this season on Aug. 1, going 4 1/3 innings and allowing two runs on solo homers by Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis. In total, he surrendered seven hits, four walks and earned four strikeouts. He threw 102 pitches in that outing.
Stat Sheet
Red Sox
The Red Sox lead the majors with 74 home runs since July 30 and have homered in 25 of their last 32 games since Aug. 14, with 51 total home runs in that time.
Victor Martinez has hit safely in 17 straight games since Aug. 28, going 22-for-61 (.361) with 12 RBI in that stretch. The streak matches a career high.
Jacoby Ellsbury has a team-high 54 multi-hit games.
Four Sox players have 20 or more home runs — Jason Bay (34), Kevin Youkilis (25), David Ortiz (24) and J.D. Drew (20). Mike Lowell is three shy of that mark.
Twenty-two players have hit at least one home run for the Sox this season, one shy of the club record of 23 in 1996.
Jonathan Papelbon has a career ERA of 0.64 (two earned runs in 29 1/3 innings) against the Orioles.
Among qualified Red Sox hitters, three are batting over .400 against the O’s this season — Kevin Youkilis (.453), Jacoby Ellsbury (.433) and Dustin Pedroia (.413).
Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a third-inning single on Friday.
Orioles
The O’s are 20-40 against the AL East.
In 59 games since the All-Star break, the O’s are 20-39 and have scored two or fewer runs in 17 of the losses.
The O’s have just 14 hits in their last three games.
In his last eight games, Luke Scott is batting .296 (8-for-27) with four doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs.
The O’s have kept opponents off the scoreboard in the first inning in each of their alst three games after allowing runs in the first inning of the previous seven games.
The O’s have been shut out nine times this season, six times at home.
Rookies Matt Wieters and Nolan Reimold have two of the three walk-off home runs hit by AL rookies this season.
Black and Blue
Red Sox
Tim Wakefield, who has been hindered by a lower back strain since the All-Star break, is set to start on Monday against Kansas City. He has made two starts since the All-Star break.
Jason Bay left Friday’s game with flu-like symptoms.
Orioles
Adam Jones is on the 15-day DL with a sprained left ankle.
Rich Hill is on the 60-day DL with left shoulder inflammation.
Brad Bergesen is also on the 60-day DL with a left leg contusion.
This Date In Red Sox History
In 1953, Mel Parnell shut out the Yankees for the fourth time that season as the Red Sox won 3-0. He was the first pitcher to not allow a run against New York all year since Walter Johnson in 1908.
Overheard
“We talk about it all the time. Every five days, you send him out there and you feel like you know what you’re going to get. That’s important. I know you have to have good stuff, but that’s part of him growing into this. It’s exciting. It’s really exciting.”
—Terry Francona on Clay Buchholz after Friday’s 3-1 win over Baltimore
Press Box
Red Sox
The Red Sox took another game from the O’s.
The Sox are shutting down a pitcher.
Tim Wakefield is scheduled to rejoin the rotation Monday.
Orioles
It was another loss to the Sox for the O’s.
Brooks Robinson paid tribute to Melvin Mora.
The O’s aren’t giving upd on the season.
MLB
The Twins beat the Tigers and pull within three games.
Scott Kazmir shut out the Rangers.
The Rockies are reeling.
Outlook
The Sox have had their way with the O’s this season. A win on Saturday will give Boston its sixth series win against the O’s this year. Jon Lester has dominated Baltimore and looks to continue his unbeaten streak with another big win on Saturday night.
