Red Sox Gaining Swagger as Jon Lester Takes on Angels
The Sox got 20 hits — 11 of them for extra bases — in a 17-8 rout of the Angels in the series opener Monday. The breakout performance came after the club had scored a total of 19 runs over the previous five games.
J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell combined to go 8-for-9 and both Adrian Beltre and Bill Hall slugged their first home runs as members of the team.
Jon Lester hopes to be the recipient of such support when he takes the mound for Boston. Ervin Santana goes for the Angels, who have dropped four straight.
WHEN AND WHERE
Angels (12-15) vs. Red Sox (12-14)Tuesday, May 4, 7 p.m. (NESN)
Fenway Park, Boston, Mass.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Red Sox are 21-12 against the Angels at home since May 18, 2003.PITCHING MATCHUP
RHP Ervin Santana (1-2, 4.59 ERA) vs. LHP Jon Lester (1-2, 4.71 ERA)Jon Lester is coming off his best start of the season, the one the club was waiting for after a bumpy beginning. He allowed just one hit and struck out 11 in seven innings of a 2-0 win over Toronto on Wednesday.
The lefty enters the contest with a string of 12 2/3 scoreless innings.
However, he has struggled against the Angels. In four career starts, Lester is 1-1 with a 7.78 ERA. Even more frightening — LA has hit .393 against him, ripping 33 hits in just 19 2/3 innings.
Lester has walked nine and struck out only eight when facing the Angels. It is Lester’s worst strikeout-to-walk ratio against any opponent that he’s faced more than once.
Ervin Santana is 1-0 with a 3.23 ERA over his last three starts, all of them wins for Los Angeles.
LINEUPS
| Angels | Red Sox | |
|---|---|---|
| Marco Scutaro, SS Dustin Pedroia, 2B Victor Martinez, C Kevin Youkilis, 1B J.D. Drew, RF David Ortiz, DH Adrian Beltre, 3B Jeremy Hermida, LF Darnell McDonald, CF |
STAT SHEET
Red Sox- First baseman Kevin Youkilis hit his 50th Fenway Park home run Monday night. He is one of 29 players to reach that mark.
- Right fielder J.D. Drew is 16-for-44 (.364) with four homers and 15 RBIs in his last 11 games.
- The Sox have won 12 of the last 14 starts made by Clay Buchholz.
Angels
- The 17 runs allowed Monday were the most by the Angels since May 25, 2009, when the Chicago White Sox also scored 17.
- Joe Saunders leads the American League with five losses.
- Infielder Maicier Izturis is 6-for-12 (.500) with runners in scoring position this year and is now .332 (142-for-428) in those situations in his career.
BLACK AND BLUE
Red Sox- Left fielder Jacoby Ellsbury is still just hitting off a tee and has yet to take live batting practice. He said Friday that he was able to swing, run and throw and that it was his best day yet as he recovers from hairline fractures in four ribs. Ellsbury has been eligible to return from the DL since April 27.
- Center fielder Mike Cameron, out with a sports hernia, was seen taking cuts in the batting cage before Saturday’s game and was running with some intensity in the outfield Monday afternoon. He has hinted that he could play in a minor league rehab game late in the week.
- Jeremy Hermida has missed three straight days with a tight left quad. Manager Terry Francona said he might be able to play Monday.
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
For the first time in days you could see a little swagger in the Red Sox clubhouse after Monday’s mauling. There was talk of the outburst waking up some of the dormant bats.Regardless of what happens on the offensive side of things, Boston will be in good hands if Lester can duplicate his performance last week in Toronto. He was downright dominant in the outing and may have put behind him a rough first month, which has become Lester’s pattern.
The Angels simply need a win. Although just 2 1/2 games back in the muddled AL West, they look very little like the club which swept Boston in the first round of the playoffs last season.
