Red Sox vs. White Sox (May 30, 2011)

Chicago White Sox (24-31) @ Red Sox (30-23)

SP - Jon Lester (7-1, 3.36) vs. Jake Peavy (1-0, 3.00)

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. David Ortiz, DH
6. Carl Crawford, LF
7. Drew Sutton, SS
8. J.D. Drew, RF
9. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C

Three Strikes:

1. During a long baseball summer it's nice to enjoy the stars from other teams that we usually do not get to follow in Boston.


Josh Beckett (4-2, 1.80) has been a joy to watch so far in 2011 but Justin Verlander stole the show last night in Detroit as he led the Tigers to a split in their doubleheader with the Red Sox.

Verlander hurled 7 2/3 scoreless innings and was registering 99 mph on the radar gun against the last batter he faced, David Ortiz.  The Red Sox never really had a chance.

2. Hopefully tonight's Lester-Peavy matchup will equal the Beckett-Verlander gem we were given last night.

Lester has not been his usual dominant self over his last five starts.  In those appearances he has allowed opposing batters to hit .275 and his ERA is 4.45.  Thanks to the Red Sox offense he is 4-0 in those starts but it doesn't hide his mini-slump.

3. Rich Hill continues to be the Red Sox most consistent relief pitcher.  He pitched a scoreless eighth inning in the second game yesterday in Detroit, using just ten pitches to retire the Tigers which included two strikeouts.