Red Sox vs. Cardinals: Ortiz, Napoli swap again

The forecast calls for rain--the same rain that's coming down now and was supposed to come down last night--in St. Louis, but if things ever dry up, Mike Napoli and David Ortiz will swap places once more as the Red Sox take on the Cardinals.

So, fun fact: the last time a Red Sox starter struck out more batters than they walked came on July 25, when Jon Lester struck out seven and walked one against the Rays.

Another fun fact: it's hard to keep runs off the board and win games when you walk as many or more batters than you strike out, no matter how good the defense behind you.

For Brandon Workman, only six of nine major league starts in 2014 fit the bill. Ideally, that number would be higher, but it still suggests that the streak is likely to end tonight. Of course, I expect it was likely to end just about every other night. Pitchers usually manage more strikeouts than walks. Just not on the Red Sox of late, and that's...distressing. This first look at the potential rotation of the future has, frankly, been unimpressive. It's time for someone to step up and have a legitimately impressive outing.

First pitch is at 7:15 p.m. ET with broadcasts on NESN, the MLB Network, and WEEI.