Daisuke Matsuzaka Has Chance to Take Red Sox Above .500 Against Angels

It’s been a long time since the Red Sox were above .500. That’s where they’ll be if they can finish off a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Thursday.

Boston has won the first three games of the set by a combined score of 25-10, getting 17 runs on 20 hits in the opener and then a pair of dominant pitching performances.

John Lackey was the latest to shut down the struggling Angels. Facing his former team, Lackey yielded a run on two hits in seven innings of Wednesday’s 3-1 victory.

Daisuke Matsuzaka will be making his second start of the season for the Red Sox, who have quietly won four of their last five series. They last had a winning record when they were 1-0 after defeating the New York Yankees in the opener April 4.

WHEN AND WHERE

HEAD TO HEAD

PITCHING MATCHUP

It was a Jekyll and Hyde kind of night for Matsuzaka in his season debut Saturday in Baltimore.

After tossing four sharp innings in which his slider was biting and his velocity was high, Matsuzaka was hit hard in the fifth inning and ended up leaving with an ugly line.

In 4 2/3 innings, the righty surrendered seven runs — six earned — on seven hits and three walks.

No stranger to the Red Sox from his days with Tampa Bay, Kazmir is coming off his best start of the season, although it came in a loss Saturday in Detroit.

Against the Tigers, Kazmir allowed one earned run and struck out seven in six innings.

He is 8-7 with a 3.59 ERA in his career against Boston.

LINEUPS

STAT SHEET

• In their last eight games, Red Sox starters are 5-1 with a 2.82 ERA.
• Adrian Beltre has 16 homers against the Angels, more than any other team.
• Terry Francona managed his 1,000th game for Boston on Wednesday. He is the fourth skipper in team history to reach that mark. Bill Carrigan is next on the list with 1,003. Joe Cronin leads the way with 2,007.

Angels

• Los Angeles is 0-6 on a road trip for the first time since 1999.
• Brandon Wood‘s home run Wednesday was the first by an Angels player batting in the No. 9 spot in the lineup at Fenway Park since Dick Schofield on July 19, 1985.
• Los Angeles has scored exactly one run in three of its last four games.

BLACK AND BLUE

• Left fielder Jacoby Ellsbury took swings in the batting cage for the first time Tuesday and did so again Wednesday as he continues to recover from rib/chest injuries. Ellsbury has been eligible to return from the DL since April 27.
• Center fielder Mike Cameron, out with a sports hernia, has continued to increase the intensity of his workouts. Francona said a plan may be put in place by the end of the week for Cameron to return.
• Righty Boof Bonser is scheduled to begin his second rehab stint with a start for Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday. Bonser struggled to get loose before a start on April 13 and was brought to Boston for tests. He was cleared to resume throwing and recently tossed three simulated innings.
• Infielder Jed Lowrie has gained four pounds and is combining baseball-related activities with strength and conditioning this week for the first time since he came down with mono in March. Francona said he could be playing games again in about four weeks.

Angels

• Catcher Jeff Mathis is expected back in June from a fractured right wrist.
• Catcher Bobby Wilson went on the disabled list April 24 with a concussion and sprained ankle after a violent collision at home plate.

OUTLOOK

The Angels give him a good chance to see improved results. They have scored two runs or fewer four times during their six-game losing streak, their longest slide since April 2007.