Tampa Bay Rays (64-56) @ Red Sox (74-47)
SP - John Lackey (11-8, 6.13) vs. David Price (10-10, 3.76)
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Adrian Gonzalez, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. Jed Lowrie, 3B
6. Darnell McDonald, RF
7. Carl Crawford, LF
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
9. Mike Aviles, SS
Three Strikes:
1. Jacoby Ellsbury's successful summer continued yesterday. He hit a three-run home run in Game 1 of the doubleheader (which accounted for all the runs the Red Sox scored in their 3-1 win) and added another home run in the Game 2 loss to the Rays.
He is now hitting .313 with 22 HR, 78 RBI, an OPS of .884 and 31 stolen bases.
At the end of the season Ellsbury will be one of the favorites to win the American League MVP but that is not breaking news, especially if you are a regular reader of this space.
Because he is a Scott Boras client it is very unlikely that Ellsbury will sign an extension before he is able to become a free agent after the 2013 season but Theo Epstein should be trying every day to lock him up.
2. While he doesn't have much to show for the effort, Erik Bedard's first three starts with the Red Sox have been encouraging. His record is just 0-1 (Bedard got the loss last night despite allowing just one earned run in six innings) but he has an impressive 3.38 ERA and 1.313 WHIP.
If Clay Buchholz does not return from his back injury, Terry Francona could very likely be turning to Bedard after Josh Beckett and Jon Lester in his playoff rotation.
3. Yes, it's Game 122 and the Red Sox are in second place.
For the 437,912 time, that's not all bad considering the 2-10 start. With forty games to play, the Red Sox are in prime position to make the playoffs and they can still take the A.L. East over the Yankees.
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