The weekend is upon us, and once again, the Red Sox find themselves in first place in the American League East, one-half game ahead of the Rays, and five-and-a-half games ahead of the Yankees.
However, the Red Sox need to capitalize on their momentum as they start the second half of the season on the road, where they are 21-29(.420) on the season. They start with three games against the AL-West-leading Angels, and then head to Seattle for a three-game series with the bottom-feeding Mariners.
Friday
Clay Buchholz (2-4, 5.70 ERA) v. John Lackey (6-2, 2.47 ERA)
A big game for the Red Sox, who need Buchholz to regain his 2007 form sooner rather than later. His last outing on July 11 against the Orioles did not go well. He allowed four runs in five innings of work, but the most telling statistic was the five walks he allowed.
He can't afford to give the opposing team free passes and put runners on base, especially for a team that doesn't hit particularly well like the Angels. He spent the time in AAA in order to regain the confidence and command of his fastball, and it still looks like he needs to smooth out some rough edges, and this seems like a good game to do it.
On the other hand, the Red Sox will be breaking in a new shortstop, Jed Lowrie, against John Lackey, who has been really good so far this season, but has been roughed up badly in his last two outings.
The Sox are hoping that Lowrie will be as good or better offensively than Julio Lugo was, and they expect him to be better defensively, considering Lugo's 16 errors and .946 fielding percentage in the first half.
Saturday
Josh Beckett (9-5, 3.94 ERA) v. Jon Garland (8-6, 4.20 ERA)
Beckett's last start was in the wild finale with the Twins, where he got smacked around a little bit, and gave up two home runs, a problem that plagued the ace in his first disastrous season with the Sox.
However, it looks as if he is finally rounding into form, striking out more hitters, and eating more innings. His ERA in June was 2.38, and has been 4-1 since the beginning of June.
The team hopes Beckett will round into form for the final months of the season, but they hope he can emulate his 2007 postseason performance because that could be the key to October success.
Garland's last start was a complete-game win against the Blue Jays, where he allowed only one run. He has been inconsistent: floundering at times, and dominating at others.
The team will hope to get to Garland early, as he tends to struggle when teams get early leads on him. In July, his ERA has been above six, and the Red Sox should hope to capitalize.
Sunday
Tim Wakefield (6-6, 3.60 ERA) v. Joe Saunders (12-5, 3.07 ERA)
Wakefield honestly might be able to pitch until he is 80-years old. The old man is currently in the midst of one of his best seasons in recent seasons. His ERA is fantastic, and of course, as always, he is eating innings and going deep enough into games to relieve the stress from some of the exhausted members of the bullpen.
He hasn't faced the Angels yet, but the lack of power in the Angels' lineup bodes well for Wakefield. The winds are expected to be blowing at about nine miles per hour, so the knuckleball could be dancing, and causing headaches for Angels hitters.
Saunders has been a revelation for the Angels. He has been possibly the best pitcher on the staff behind Lackey, and is a first-time, and deserving, All-Star. However, right-handed hitters hit much better against him. Meanwhile, aside from J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury, the Red Sox are all right-handed hitters, which gives them hope.
Also, the Angels should be prepared for a slight dip in Saunders' numbers. His career splits in the first half of the season (3.05 ERA) are much better than his numbers in the second half of the season (5.04 ERA). He has improved significantly, but don't expect him to keep up his incredible pace.
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