Editor's note: The temperature gauge is a Bill James-created statistic that measures how hot or cold hitters are. We will spotlight Red Sox and opposing team temperatures on game days.
The Red Sox have received a lot of attention for their pitching woes, and this week may be no different, as the hard-hitting Angels come into Fenway Park for what promises to be an offense-filled series.
But the Sox have hot bats of their own, and they've shown greater ability as the season goes on in filling the box score.
Boston's top hitter continues to be Adrian Gonzalez, who has been stringing hits and home runs together at quite the rate since the All-Star Break. He's hitting .307 now with 15 homers and 85 RBIs, and he had dingers in each of his last two games, both against New York.
For the Angels, look no further than rookie Mike Trout and shortstop Erick Aybar. Trout has quietly been posting a historic season on the West Coast, but the Red Sox should get to see plenty up close from the talented center fielder during the series. He's clubbing at a .343 rate (.405 OBP, .608 slugging) and also has 24 home runs and 70 RBIs.
Aybar, meanwhile, has toasted two hits in each of his last three games.
Check out the temperatures for the Red Sox and Angels for Aug. 21 below.
Red Sox
Adrian Gonzalez 87
Pedro Ciriaco 74
Mauro Gomez 73
Carl Crawford 72
Dustin Pedroia 72
Mike Aviles 70
Danny Valencia 70
Scott Podsednik 67
Nick Punto 64
Jarrod Saltalamacchia 55
Ryan Lavarnway 55
Jacoby Ellsbury 55
Cody Ross 51
Angels
Mike Trout 86
Erick Aybar 82
Albert Pujols 78
Torii Hunter 78
Peter Bourjos 72
Bobby Wilson 72
Kendrys Morales 72
Maicer Izturis 71
Howie Kendrick 68
Alberto Callaspo 68
Vernon Wells 64
Chris Iannetta 61
Mark Trumbo 50
