John Lackey looks to eclipse the .500 plateau for the first time this season as the Red Sox take on Clayton Richard and the Padres in a matinee rubber match.
Lackey is 5-5 with a 7.02 ERA and has won his last three straight starts. In his last outing, he went eight innings and allowed four earned runs on eight hits in Boston's 10-4 win over Milwaukee. Jason Bartlett, who faced Lackey often last season as a Tampa Bay Ray, has the most experience (25 at-bats) against him. He owns a .320 batting average and of his eight hits, three have been triples. Orlando Hudson is 6-for-23 (.261) against Lackey while Jorge Cantu is just 1-for-10 with four strikeouts.
Toeing the rubber for the Padres is Richard, who is 2-9 with a 4.35 ERA. Although he hasn't won since May 16, Richard has strung together some strong outings since, having allowed more than three earned runs just once (five earned in his last outing) since the last win. Mike Cameron (2-for-6, homer, double) and Marco Scutaro (2-for-4, homer) have had the most experience against the lefty, among Red Sox batsmen.
Boston
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
David Ortiz, DH
Darnell McDonald, LF
Marco Scutaro, SS
Jason Varitek, C
Mike Cameron, RF
San Diego
Will Venable, RF
Jason Bartlett, SS
Chase Headley, 3B
Ryan Ludwick, LF
Jesus Guzman, DH
Orlando Hudson, 2B
Anthony Rizzo, 1B
Cameron Maybin, CF
Nick Hundley, C
