Game 138: White Sox at Red Sox - Day baseball good for Doubront

Ben Whitehead
Contributing Writer

Matinee baseball is on tap for Fenway Park, weather pending, and the Boston Red Sox go for a series sweep against the Chicago White Sox. Boston (81-56) dominated Saturday’s game from start to finish, getting seven runs on 15 hits while former White Sox Jake Peavy shut down his old team, giving up two runs on five hits through seven innings. Chicago (56-78) gave up runs in five of the first six innings and seven Red Sox hitters had multi-hit games.

Felix Doubront will try to complete the sweep and there’s not a more perfect scenario for him to do so. Doubront is 10-6 with a 3.74 ERA, but he boasts a 2.35 ERA in day games this season. After two consecutive starts of lasting just four innings, Doubront has pitched into the seventh or later in back-to-back outings, picking up two runs and allowing three runs with 10 strikeouts.

Here is the Red Sox lineup today (first pitch – 1:35 pm EDT):

1. Ellsbury, CF
2. Victorino, RF
3. Pedroia, 2B
4. Ortiz, DH
5. Nava, LF
6. Carp, 1B
7. Saltalamacchia, C
8. Drew, SS
9. Bogaerts, 3B

Doubront, P

The Good Sox will face rookie righty Andre Rienzo, who is 1-0 with a 4.21 ERA in six starts. He has walked 17 batters in 36.1 innings and given up 35 hits, so the Red Sox should be able to take advantage and puts some crooked numbers on the scoreboard.

Slump? What slump?
David Ortiz now has three hits in his last six at-bats along with three RBI. Ortiz broke out of an 0-for-23 slump with a single through the shift Friday to score two runs, then had two hits Saturday, including a blooper over the shortstop’s head to score a run. The calendar page has turned to September and there may not be a better time for the Boston slugger to start heating up.

Rest of the East fading
Tampa Bay has lost three in a row and Baltimore is on the verge of being swept by the Yankees. Because the Red Sox keep winning (6 of their last 7), the margin in the AL East has grown to 4.5 games over the Rays. The Orioles have slipped to fourth place behind New York. The Yanks are 8.0 games back and Baltimore is 8.5. Is there a reason to discuss the Blue Jays, who are 18.5 games behind the Red Sox? Nope.

Let us know what you think about today’s game by commenting below.

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