Red Sox Look To Return To Winning Ways Against A's
BOSTON (CBS) - The Boston Red Sox had a day to regroup after getting swept by the Chicago White Sox. Now they turn their attention to the Oakland Athletics as they try to snap a four-game losing streak.
The Sox and A's split a two-game series out in Oakland in February. At the time, it was Boston's first road win of the season.
Brett Anderson shut down the Sox for eight innings in their first meeting of the year, and will get the ball in the Sunday finale. Anderson has had success against the Red Sox in his brief career, boasting a 3-1 record with a 2.61 while holding Boston bats to a .205 average.
Anderson will be opposed by John Lackey, who is scheduled to come off the disabled list on Sunday, in a rematch of the April 19 matchup. Lackey, sidelined with an elbow issue, will look to turn around a 2-5 season. Of the 35 runs Lackey has allowed this season, 26 have come in just three of his starts (nine runs to the Rangers and Blue Jays, eight to the Angels) over the course of 14.1 innings.
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The Red Sox bats will look to keep rolling after a red-hot May. Boston led the Majors with a .287 batting average in May, led by David Ortiz (.342) and Adrian Gonzalez (.341). Ortiz hit 10 home runs last month and now has 13 on the season. Gonzalez, who leads the American League with 46 RBI, drove in 31 in 29 games in May.
The Red Sox sit two games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East heading into the weekend.
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The time of Saturday's game was changed from 7:10 pm to 1:05 pm earlier in the week to give fans a chance to attend the game and watch Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals later in the evening.
Pitching Matchups Against Oakland
Friday 7:10 pm
- Josh Outman (1-0, 2.08 ERA) vs. Clay Buchholz (4-3, 3.41 ERA)
Saturday 1:05 pm
- Trevor Cahill (6-3, 2.31 ERA) vs. Josh Beckett (4-2, 1.80 ERA)
Sunday 1:35 pm
- Brett Anderson (3-5, 3.68 ERA) vs. John Lackey (2-5, 8.01 ERA)
