It has been a mere five days since David Price came into Fenway Park and dominated the Red Sox lineup en route to a complete-game win. Now, he’s looking to emulate his performance that held one of the best-hitting teams in baseball to a five-hit night.
Price and the Rays are back in town to make up Thursday’s rainout, and the game comes with serious implications. The Sox are holding on to a half-game lead over the Rays in the American League East, but they will need their bats to come to life against the defending AL Cy Young winner if they plan on extending their lead.
Leadoff man and center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury will look to set the table for the Sox. Ellsbury has hit safely in five of his previous 14 at-bats, but he was 0-for-4 against Price in Wednesday’s 5-1 loss. David Ortiz is fresh off a weekend series where he seemed to be hitting everything in sight, highlighted by a four-hit performance in Sunday’s 5-0 win over the Orioles. The slugger is hitting .467 since the All-Star break.
The Sox will also look to get contributions from catcher Ryan Lavarnway and third baseman Brandon Snyder, who will bat seventh and ninth, respectively. Lavarnway has been in a bit of a slump at the plate, recording only two base hits in his previous 18 at-bats. Snyder hasn’t been experiencing much success with the bat, either, going hitless in his last 11 at-bats.
Felix Doubront will get the start for the Sox and will be tasked with slowing down the red-hot Rays, who have won 21 of their last 25. Doubront took the loss in Wednesday’s duel against Price but only allowed three runs on six hits over 6 2/3 innings of work. The lefty has strung together 13 consecutive starts without allowing more than three earned runs.
Check out the starting lineups for both teams below.
Boston Red Sox (63-43)
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Shane Victorino, RF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
David Ortiz, DH
Mike Napoli, 1B
Johnny Gomes, LF
Ryan Lavarnway, C
Stephen Drew, SS
Brandon Snyder, 3B
Felix Doubront, LHP
Tampa Bay Rays (62-43)
Desmond Jennings, CF
Evan Longoria, 3B
Ben Zobrist, 2B
Wil Myers, RF
Luke Scott, DH
Yunel Escobar, SS
James Loney, 1B
Jose Molina, C
Sean Rodriguez, LF
David Price, LHP
