Josh Beckett (3-2, 4.19)Last Start: 8.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K - W against Tampa Bay
versus Detroit: 0-1 in one start, gave up 5 runs on 6 hits over 6 innings at Fenway in 2006.
Match-up to Watch: Magglio Ordonez had 3 hits last night, but is 0-2 with a walk lifetime vs Beckett.
Josh Beckett has won three of his last four starts and has gone 7+ in three of them. The Sox will be looking for another strong outing from their ace tonight. Most of the Tigers have limited at-bats against Beckett, but last night's hero, Placido Polanco has seen him 16 times... he's only manged 3 hits (.188).
Justin Verlander (1-5, 6.28)
Last Start: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, HR, 2 BB, 5 K - L against the Twins
at Comerica: 19-9 with a 3.89 ERA
Match-up to Watch: Kevin Youkilis is 3-7 (.429) with a home run against Verlander
Verlander has been struggling this season, but much like many of the Tiger starters, he has not received much run support (2.8 runs per start). If you take away the 10 runs they scored against Texas, the Tigers have only scored more than 2 runs one once for their ace... That said, Verlander has given up 4+ runs in 6 of his 7 starts, so he can't blame the offense entirely.
He did seem to turn the page in his last outing, giving up 4 runs over 7 innings and fanning 6 in a 4-1 loss to the Twins. The offense let him down again, but that was a good start compared to the others... and he's 19-9 at home, so tonight coould be another step in the right direction.
Like Beckett with the Tigers, the Sox haven't seen much of Verlander. The Match-up yo Watch will be when the red hot Youkilis comes to bat. Yuke is 9 for his last 18 (.500) with 4 home runs... Big Papi is also 2-4 with a home run and two walks against Verlander.
Bottom Line: If you had told me on April 1st that the Sox would take 5 of 7 from the Tigers this year I would have laughed... but they can do just that tonight.
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