Sweep on Minds of Red Sox Heading Into Thursday’s Matinee

The Red Sox aim for their third series sweep in the last three weeks and their fifth straight win overall when they host the Oakland Athletics in a Thursday matinee.

Behind a promising start from Daisuke Matsuzaka and a two-run homer by David Ortiz, the Sox took the middle game of the set Wednesday night 6-4.

The win boosted Boston to eight games above .500 for the first time in 2010, and pushed the club back into third place in the hotly contested American League East.

Tim Wakefield, coming off a horrendous start against Kansas City six days ago, will make his eighth start of the season for the Sox. Rising lefty Brett Anderson goes for Oakland, which has fallen out of first place in the A.L. West.

WHEN AND WHERE

Athletics (28-26) at Red Sox (31-23)
Thursday, June 3, 1:35 p.m.
Fenway Park, Boston

HEAD TO HEAD

The Sox are 12-4 at home against the A's over the last four years.

PITCHING MATCHUP

LHP Brett Anderson (2-1, 1.88 ERA) vs. RHP Tim Wakefield (1-3, 5.68 ERA)

Wakefield had been on a bit of a roll and was coming off his first win since last July when he fell apart six days ago against Kansas City.

In just 3 2/3 innings of a 12-5 loss, Wakefield gave up nine runs on 12 hits while walking three and fanning just one. He had allowed only five runs in 21 2/3 innings over his previous three starts.

Wakefield is 11-6 in his career against Oakland, including an outing early last season in which he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning.

Anderson returned from elbow and forearm problems that knocked him out of action for over a month to toy with the Detroit Tigers on Saturday. In a 6-0 victory, the 22-year-old yielded just three hits in 5 2/3 innings.

In three remarkable starts against Boston last season, including two at Fenway less than a month apart, Anderson allowed just five runs on 11 hits in 22 innings.

LINEUPS

STAT SHEET

Red Sox

• Boston has won or split 11 of its last 14 series, going an AL-best 27-14 in that stretch.
• Closer Jonathan Papelbon made his 286th relief appearance Wednesday, tying with Dick Radatz for third most in team history. Bob Stanley (552) and Mike Timlin (394) are the top two on the list.
• Right fielder J.D. Drew on Wednesday joined Ivan Rodriguez, Johnny Damon and Luis Castillo as the only major leaguers with at least one triple in every season since 1998.

Athletics

• Catcher Kurt Suzuki has now hit safely in all 22 of his starts against the Sox, batting .352 (32-for-91) in that span.
• Starter Ben Sheets has gone at least six innings in each of his last six starts.
• First baseman Daric Barton has hit safely in a career-high nine straight games. He is 12-for-32 (.375) in the stretch.

BLACK AND BLUE

Red Sox

• Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury returned to the disabled list Friday with rib cage soreness. The move was retroactive to May 25.
• Outfielder Mike Cameron was given Tuesday off due to soreness in his side. He was re-evaluated by a specialist Wednesday morning and may return by Friday.
• Starter Josh Beckett will take 10 days off before resuming any baseball activity, the latest blow to his slow recovery from back ailments.
• Right-hander Boof Bonser recovered from an extremely rocky outing May 22 to throw six shutout innings against Norfolk in his latest rehab start at Triple-A Pawtucket. Bonser has been on the DL with a right groin injury since the end of spring training.
• Infielder Jed Lowrie continues to try to work back from mononucleosis. He took batting practice and fielded grounders at Fenway last week.

Athletics

• Outfielder Coco Crisp was placed on the DL on May 23 with a ribcage strain. He had played just two games after beginning the season sidelined with a broken finger.
• Designated hitter Eric Chavez is on the DL with a bulging disk in his neck. He has hinted at retirement after the latest in a long line of injuries for the former All-Star.
• Right-hander Justin Duchscherer will have season-ending surgery on his left hip. He attempted to rehab the injury in mid-May but was unable to return.
• Outfielder Travis Buck is hoping to begin playing in extended spring training games soon as he works back from a strained right oblique.

OUTLOOK

This has been a frustrating series for the A's, who led 4-0 in the opener and 3-0 in the second game. But leads like that are never safe in Fenway, especially against a Red Sox offense that continues to roll.

With Wednesday's 10-hit effort, the Sox have amassed 23 runs on 34 hits in their last three games. Keeping such a run alive against Anderson will be difficult, as the young lefty has been a headache for Boston bats.