How we see it goin' down: Rangers - Sox series

First Pitch: Tuesday 7:10, Wednesday 7:10

Arms: Tuesday: Colby Lewis, RHP (1-0, 1.42 ERA) vs. Jon Lester, LHP (0-1, 2.40 ERA)

Wednesday: Derek Holland, LHP (1-0, 3.38 ERA) vs. Josh Beckett, RHP (1-1, 5.68 ERA)

                           Yard: Fenway Park   Watch it:  NESN (NESN/ESPN 2 - Wed.)  Hear it:  WEEI The Matchup

 

Record: 8-2 (1st AL West) Record: 4-6 (Last AL East) On road: 3-0
At home: 3-1
Streak: Won 4
Streak: Lost 1
    Leaders at the plate
 Leaders at the plate
Average: Hamilton (.390)
Average: Ortiz (.410)
Homers: Hamilton/Kinsler (4)
Homers: Aviles/Pedroia/Ross (2)
RBI: Young (9)
RBI: Ortiz (10)
Leaders on the mound
Leaders on the mound Wins: Harrison/Ross (2)
Wins: 4 Tied (1)
ERA: Harrison (0.64) | Ross (0.00)
ERA: Lester (2.40) | Morales (0.00)
K's: Lewis (15)
K's: Bard/Doubront (13)
Last time

The Texas Rangers are responsible for beginning the Great Collapse of 2011. The Rangers were in Boston for a 3-game set from September 2-4. It was ugly. The Sox came away with a 12-7 victory in the middle game, but were out-scored 21-4 in the other two games. I won't get into any further details.

This time

Laser Show: David Ortiz

Big Papi is coming off a .563 performance in the Rays series and the Sox will need him to come up big against the Rangers. Colby Lewis is one of the toughest pitchers in the league and Ortiz has his number. Against Lewis, Ortiz has a career .333 batting average, with 3 homers, 5 RBI, and an OPS of 1.345. Come on Papi, keep it goin'.
Pitch Around: Josh Hamilton
By looking at the stats, I would say Josh Hamilton loves to play the Sox. Hamilton has a career .319 average against Boston with 5 career home runs. I would also say that Hamilton enjoys playing the Sox when Beckett is on the mound. With Beckett on the mound in 16 plate appearances, Hamilton has a career .429 average, with 6 homers, 6 RBI, and an OPS of 1.357. Scary.  I'd throw up the 4 fingers when he is at the plate.

Don't Fall Behind: Holland and Lewis

The Sox did very well against a good Rays rotation, for the most part. They might not be so lucky against Holland and Lewis. These guys are good and their teammates are a killer at the plate. If the Sox have any shot at beating the Rangers they have give Holland and Lewis the same treatment as Price and Hellickson received.

How we see it goin' down

The Sox are looking much better, but the Rangers are looking great. Aside from game 4 of the Rays series, the Sox are looking good. I expect a couple of pitching duels resulting in a series split.