Red Sox Hope to Rebound As Clay Buchholz Goes for 11th Victory of Season
Star second baseman Dustin Pedroia left Friday’s 5-4 loss to San Francisco in the third inning after fouling a ball off his left foot. X-rays were taken, but the club will have to run Pedroia through more tests Saturday to determine the severity of the injury.
With or without Pedroia, Boston will be trying to move past a setback in the series opener that saw the club waste multiple scoring opportunities, stranding 11 runners on base in the last four innings alone.
Clay Buchholz gets the start for the Sox. He is attempting to become the first American League pitcher with 11 wins.
WHEN AND WHERE
Red Sox (44-31) at Giants (40-32)
Saturday, June 26, 7:10 p.m.
AT&T Park, San Francisco
HEAD TO HEAD
The Giants have won three of four meetings at home.
PITCHING MATCHUP
RHP Clay Buchholz (10-4, 2.47 ERA) vs. LHP Madison Bumgarner (7-1, 1.16 ERA at Triple-A Fresno)
Perhaps one of the best indications of how far Clay Buchholz has come this season was in the words of Sox players and coaches after his last start. Many teammates — as well as manager Terry Francona — talked about how Buchholz did not have his best stuff but grinded through the outing, even after the 25-year-old yielded just three hits in 6 2/3 innings. The effort gave Buchholz his seventh win in eight starts.
He has never faced San Francisco but is 5-1 with a 1.74 ERA on the road this year.
Joe Martinez, a Boston College product, was originally slated to start but has been replaced by Bumgarner. The 20-year-old lefty pitched 10 Major League innings last year, and he’s had a successful 2010 campaign in Triple-A this season.
LINEUPS
| Red Sox | Giants |
|---|---|
| Marco Scutaro, SS Darnell McDonald, RF Victor Martinez, C Kevin Youkilis, 1B Adrian Beltre, 3B Daniel Nava, LF Bill Hall, 2B Mike Cameron, CF Clay Buchholz, P |
TBD |
STAT SHEET
Red Sox
- Tim Wakefield made his 400th start with the Red Sox on Friday.
- Daniel Nava‘s streak of reaching base in 12 straight games to start his major league career is the longest for a Red Sox player since Mo Vaughn had a matching run in 1991.
- First baseman Kevin Youkilis has at least one RBI in seven of his last nine games and 21 in 20 games this month.
Giants
- The top three batters in the San Francisco lineup Friday went a combined 0-for-12. The next three were 7-for-12.
- Closer Brian Wilson needed a season-high 42 pitches to nail down his 21st save Friday.
- The Giants are 25-12 at home.
BLACK AND BLUE
Red Sox
- Second baseman Dustin Pedroia left Friday’s game in the third inning after fouling a ball off his left foot. He was given X-rays and will receive more tests Saturday.
- Outfielder J.D. Drew expects to return to the starting lineup Saturday as he deals with a strained right hamstring. Drew pinch-hit Thursday, his only action in a week.
- Outfielder Jeremy Hermida was placed on the DL on June 11 after an MRI revealed five fractured ribs, the result of a collision with third baseman Adrian Beltre one week earlier. He is expected to begin outfield drills soon but has not started to swing yet.
- An MRI conducted June 9 revealed a new fracture in outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury‘s ribs. Ellsbury, who was placed on the DL May 28 for the second time this year, has been at the Athletes’ Performance center in Arizona for two weeks but has yet to resume baseball activities.
- Josh Beckett threw 55 pitches in his second bullpen session Wednesday and will toss a simulated game Saturday as he works his way back from a lower back strain.
- Infielder Jed Lowrie remains on the DL after coming down with mononucleosis during spring training. He is playing in extended spring training games.
- Righty Junichi Tazawa underwent Tommy John surgery in March. He is out for the year.
Giants
- Right-hander Todd Wellemeyer is on the DL with a strained right quadriceps.
- Infielder Emmanuel Burriss, who had surgery on his left foot in March, is on a rehab assignment and hopes to return in July.
- Left fielder Mark DeRosa will miss the rest of the season with surgery on his left wrist.
OUTLOOK
Whatever happens, it figures to be dramatic. The Sox have lost three games on the trip in heart-wrenching fashion, while picking up one win on the excursion in extra innings behind Dustin Pedroia’s three home runs. Before it all goes down, we await the word on Pedroia, which may carry more weight than the game itself.
