Thursday, July 28, 2011

Red Sox vs. Royals (July 28, 2011)

Kansas City Royals (43-61) @ Red Sox (64-38)

SP - Josh Beckett (9-3, 2.07) vs. Luke Hochevar (6-8, 5.29)

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. David Ortiz, DH
6. Josh Reddick, RF
7. Drew Sutton, LF
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Yamaico Navarro, SS

Three Strikes:

1. Okay, I'll say it, Adrian Gonzalez will end his homerless streak - which dates back to July 7 - today.  I'm predicting Gonzo will hit two out of Fenway today, one into the Monster Seats and another behind the Royals bullpen.

2. Dustin Pedroia's hitting streak continues.  The second baseman has now hit in 24 straight games with a .406 BA.

3. Clay Buchholz' back does not seem to be healing and that makes it likely that Theo Epstein will try and acquire a starting pitcher prior to Sunday's non-waiver trade deadline.

John Lackey is 3-0 with a 3.44 ERA over his last three starts but is he the guy that Terry Francona wants to be forced to use as the third starter in the playoffs?

Keep an eye on Hiroki Kuroda of the Dodgers as a potential target of the Red Sox.

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