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I never thought I'd say this, but it's good to see Mike Carp again.
For the first time in nearly a week, Carp is back in the lineup, playing first base and batting fifth in place of Mike Napoli. While Boston's starting first baseman has picked up a few hits in recent days, they have been bloops, not terribly convincing in the face of an ugly June performance.
Carp, on the other hand, has simply been magical. And while Carp has a .400 BABIP and 28.4% K-rate, the former number is not far of Napoli's, and the latter is notably better. Right now, the Sox will ride the hot hand, and do it happily.
Boston Red Sox (45-31)
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Shane Victorino, RF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Mike Carp, 1B
- Daniel Nava, LF
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
- Stephen Drew, SS
- Jose Iglesias, 3B
Starting Pitcher -- Allen Webster
Detroit Tigers (40-32)
- Austin Jackson, CF
- Torii Hunter, RF
- Miguel Cabrera, 3B
- Prince Fielder, 1B
- Victor Martinez, DH
- Jhonny Peralta, SS
- Andy Dirks, LF
- Omar Infante, 2B
- Brayan Pena, C
Starting Pitcher -- Max Scherzer
Between one good start and one awful start, it's impossible to know what to expect from Allen Webster today. He could certainly go in either direction from here, but the Tigers aren't exactly the sort of lineup you want to be facing in the outing which will determine the tenor of your season. He's got a chance to impress, to be sure, but this is the sort of start you want to back up with plenty of runs.
Unfortunately, Max Scherzer is not the sort to give up a ton of runs. In fact, it's been more than a month since he surrendered more than three. And he's only once given up even that many since. The Red Sox certainly did manage to score against the impressive Doug Fister last night, but Scherzer with his many strikeouts is not so vulnerable to Detroit's defensive deficiencies as Fister.
We'll have to see.
