Pitching Matchups: Red Sox Face Tough Trio Of Washington Starters
BOSTON (CBS) -- The 4-2 Red Sox return to Fenway Park on Monday for their 2015 home opener, kicking off a three-game set with the Washington Nationals.
The Nationals are off to a rough start at 2-4, but have one of the more impressive rotations in the majors. The Red Sox don't have to worry about Max Scherzer, but they are going against three quality starters over the next three days.
Here are the pitching matchups for Boston's series against Washington at Fenway:
Monday, April 13 -- 3:05pm
Jordan Zimmermann (1-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. Rick Porcello (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
Porcello is looking to bounce back from a loss in his first start as a member of the Red Sox. The 26-year-old allowed three runs in six innings against the Phillies, all coming off the bat of Jeff Francoeur via a three-run homer in the sixth.
The expectations are high for Porcello after Boston gave him a four-year, $82.5 million extension last week. He is 2-1 with a 6.41 ERA in his four career starts at Fenway, allowing four homers in 19.2 innings.
As for Zimmermann, he's coming off his first start of the season in which he allowed just one earned run over six innings against the Mets. He is 1-0 with a 2.57 ERA in two career starts against Boston.
Key Matchup: Hanley Ramirez vs. Zimmermann
Ramirez is 10-for-25 (.400) in his career against Zimmermann with a homer, two doubles and six RBI
Tuesday, April 14 -- 6:10pm
Stephen Strasburg (0-1, 5.06 ERA) vs. Justin Masterson (1-0, 3.00 ERA)
It's just a shame Masterson can't get a few at bats in front of the home crowd. Masterson allowed two runs over six innings against the Phillies in his first start of the season, but also went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI to help his own cause.
He goes against fireballer Stephen Stasburg, who struggled in his first start of the year against the Mets. The 26-year-old allowed six runs (three earned) off nine hits and three walks over 5.1 innings while striking out five.
Strasburg has made a lot of batters look silly at the plate over his young career, but he has done it to a few Red Sox in particular. Allen Craig is 1-for-12 with six strikeouts, Nava and Victorino a combined 0-for-7 with 6 K's, and Pedroia is 1-for-3, his two outs both punch outs.
Key Matchup: Ramirez vs. Strasburg
You'll notice Hanley in this section quite a bit this season. Ramirez is 5-for-16 with a homer, two doubles, two RBI and 4 K's against Strasburg.
Wednesday, April 25 -- 1:35pm
Gio Gonzalez (0-1, 4.26 ERA) vs. Wade Miley (0-0, 3.38 ERA)
Miley was very good for five innings in his Red Sox debut, striking out six Yankees, but struggled in the sixth inning against New York and ended up allowing two runs off four hits and a pair of walks over 5.1 innings of work. Boston went on to win that game 6-5 in 19 innings.
As for Wednesday's opponent, Miley has some interesting numbers against the Nationals. While Washington hits him hard and manages to get plenty of baserunners, that hasn't led to many runs against the right hander. In five career starts against Washington, Miley is 1-2, allowing 37 hits and 13 walks in 31 innings pitched. But Washington has managed to score just seven earned runs against Miley, while striking out 16 times.
We'll see if he can keep them from touching home plate in Wednesday's matinée.
Gonzalez gets the ball for Washington to close the series, bringing some success against a few of Boston's bats. While David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, and Mike Napoli all have home runs in their careers against Gonzalez, they're a combined 8-for-36 (.222) against the Nats lefty.
Key Matchup: Gonzalez vs. Pablo Sandoval
Sandoval is just 1-for-10 with 6 strikeouts against Gonzalez.