Boston Begins Push
If the Boston Red Sox want to successfully defend their World Series championship, they may need a healthy and effective Josh Beckett pitching for them throughout September and October.
They won’t have that on Friday, as Beckett will instead be in Alabama visiting Dr. James Andrews when Boston opens a three-game series with the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Boston -165 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9.5 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 87% of bets for this game have been placed on Boston -165 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
On Thursday afternoon, all seemed well for the Red Sox (77-56), who appeared to be en route to a three-game sweep in their final regular-season series at Yankee Stadium, with Beckett slated to return to the mound in the opener against the White Sox.
That quickly changed, as their bullpen blew a late lead in a 3-2 loss to New York. Then, the team announced Beckett would be scratched from his scheduled start to have his elbow examined.
"He’s just not quite 100 percent," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein told the team’s official Web site. "He’s getting better. Again, not quite 100 percent. As much for his peace of mind as anything, he’s going to see Dr. Andrews on Friday morning."
Beckett, who finished second in the AL Cy Young award voting and went 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA in the playoffs last year, had been dealing with numbness in his pitching arm since sleeping on it before his most recent start. He gave up eight runs in 2 1-3 innings against Toronto on Aug. 17.
Those symptoms appear to have subsided, but have been replaced by elbow inflammation. The Red Sox decided to go the precautionary route, making it unclear when Beckett might pitch next.
Daisuke Matsuzaka (15-2, 2.98 ERA) will try to pick up the slack Friday, pitching on a full four days’ rest thanks to Monday’s off day. David Pauley, a callup from Triple-A Pawtucket, is set to start Saturday.
Matsuzaka will take his second shot at his 16th victory, surpassing the total from his 2007 rookie season. The Red Sox are 19-4 when the Japanese right-hander pitches this year.
One of those wins came on Sunday, though Matsuzaka didn’t receive a decision after giving up five runs in six innings of Boston’s 6-5, 11-inning victory over Toronto.
That was part of a 6-3 road trip for the Red Sox, who won all three series to maintain a slim lead over Minnesota in the wild-card standings. They now play 20 of their final 29 games at Fenway Park, where they are 43-18.
The White Sox (76-57) are also jockeying for position with the Twins in the Central, and this weekend’s series takes on extra weight knowing that Boston and Chicago could end up in a race for the wild card – or could meet in the postseason.
Despite losing 11-3 at Baltimore on Wednesday, the White Sox took two out of three in the series to start their nine-game road trip. Manager Ozzie Guillen seemed optimistic about heading to Fenway.
"I don’t think (the Red Sox) will be the same, mentally-tough-wise, after playing New York and then come to play us," Guillen told the White Sox’s official Web site. "I know a little bit. They are going to be down. No way they are going to max out when you play in Yankee Stadium."
Chicago will have Javier Vazquez (10-11, 4.37) on the mound to start the series. The right-hander allowed one run in 16 innings in a pair of victories over Kansas City and Oakland on Aug. 12 and 17, then retired the first 17 batters he faced against Tampa Bay Saturday.
He lost that game, however, allowing four runs in seven-plus innings of a 5-3 defeat.
Vazquez is 2-5 with a 4.61 ERA in his career against Boston.
The White Sox and Red Sox split a four-game set at U.S. Cellular Field earlier this month, with Matsuzaka winning the second game Aug. 9 after allowing one run and four hits in eight innings of a 6-2 victory.
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