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After snapping their 5-game losing streak with a win over the Orioles on Friday, the Sox followed up with a 7-2 win last night—their best offensive performance of the second half by far. Today, the Sox look to pick up their first series sweep since the 11th of June against the Yankees.
Current Series
Red Sox lead the series 2-0
| Fri 07/24 | WP: Brad Penny (7 - 4) SV: Jonathan Papelbon LP: Brad Bergesen (6 - 5) | 3 - 1 win |
| Sat 07/25 | WP: Jon Lester (9 - 7) LP: Jeremy Guthrie (7 - 9) | 7 - 2 win |
Baltimore Orioles Sunday, Jul 26, 2009, 1:35 PM EDT David Hernandez vs John Smoltz Partly cloudy. Winds blowing out to left field at 5-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 80.
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John Smoltz takes the mound today. So far, the results for the future Hall-of-Famer have been very mixed. Much like Jon Lester earlier in the year, he has been the victim of the big inning. In his first start, Smoltz gave up 4 of his 5 earned runs in the first inning. In his third start, he gave up 4 in the fourth. And in his most recent start, Smoltz imploded against the Rangers in the sixth, giving up 5 runs on 3 home runs. Other than those 3 innings, John has given up a paltry 5 runs in 23 innings pitched. Also much like Lester, he has a far lower FIP at 3.56 than he has an ERA. The question for Red Sox fans has to be if, like Lester, Smoltz' ERA will gradually come into line with that number.
Adam LaRoche will start his second straight game with the Red Sox after homering in yesterday's win. This time, he'll be taking Lowell's spot in the lineup as Youkilis shifts over to 3rd. Lowrie will get the start at shortstop, with Kottaras starting the day game after the night game as usual.
Congratulations to Jim Rice, inducted into the Hall-of-Fame today.