Jeremy Hermida, as well as he has done in spot starts for Jacoby Ellsbury, can’t be counted on to hit well full time, so look for fresh Triple-A call-ups like Josh Reddick or 31-year-old Darnell McDonald to make a splash or two in the lineup this week, with the just announced news that Ellsbury will go on the 15-day DL – he is still experiencing sharp pains in his stomach as of batting practice today. The Sox are so far 1-6 without him in the lineup.
The Sox continue its 10-game home stand Tuesday night with three games against the Texas Rangers, followed by three against the Baltimore Orioles. With Texas, the Sox will be facing good pitching but a disappointing hitting squad. The Rangers have a surprisingly good 3.41 team ERA going into Tuesday (second in the AL), while its offense, like the Red Sox, ranks near the bottom in runs scored. With Baltimore, their pitching staff’s ERA is second to Kansas City for worst in the AL, and its offense has scored 44 runs, a league low.
The Rangers-Red Sox series could be an early test to see how good Texas pitching really is, and also a test for Boston’s offense to overcome early adversity and injuries to key players (Ellsbury and Cameron). But between that series and the O’s series, both being at hitter-friendly Fenway Park, the BoSox should at least win half their games between Tuesday and Sunday. If not, it’s going to be another long week in Red Sox Nation.
Article comments
1 - Tony
Or maybe their best steroided-up hitter left for LA, their other best hitter stopped taking steroids, and they let Jason Bay go for freakin' Mike Cameron ha ha ha.
I'm so glad that little Red Sox blip over the past 100 years is finally over. As a baseball fan in general in got pretty annoying.
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
Maybe Alec Sulkin put it best.
3 - Howard Larrabee
I am a little over passionate about the Red Sox, so I apologize before my comment. Mediocre is not the Sox this year. They are rift with problems, players getting older and not producing (Drew, Ortiz), no ability to stop any team from running on them (32 SB's in14 games), and a very weak hitting lineup after Youk. Oh yes, and middle relief is very suspect too. This is a .500 team at best, even with our great starting pitching>