The series finale possesses a great pitching matchup on Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park.
Texas Rangers at Boston Red Sox
Texas missed out on having an opportunity to possibly sweep the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, dropping a 3-2 decision in 11 innings last night. “That was a well-played game,” third baseman Michael Young said. The club is 5-9 in July (-1,360) and has lost 10 of the last 16 games beginning on June 29. The Rangers total is also 5-9 O/U this month, with the team averaging just 4.1 runs over the past seven games. Texas is 8-16 versus AL East clubs this season, dropping six of the last eight. Ironically enough, the team is 3-9 on the road against the East clubs, with all wins coming at Fenway Park. The Rangers have dropped 11 of 14 road games against the division since September 5, 2009. Offensively, outfielder Josh Hamilton remains hot in going 12-for-27 (.444) in his last seven games and is hitting an MLB-best .429 in 40 games since June 1. During his hot streak, the Rangers lead the Majors with a 13-5 record away from Arlington.
Tampa Bay picked up a 10-5 road victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. The Rays have won three of their last four games against the Yankees in the Bronx, after losing six straight here. The win improved the club’s record to 55-35 on the season and moved them to within two games of first place. “It was a good day, we needed this win today and I was fortunate enough to get some big hits and score some runs,” Reid Brignac said. Tampa Bay is now 23-11 against divisional foes this season (+1,020) and have won 13 of its last 16 games on the road against the AL East. The Rays also took a 4-3 season series lead over the Bronx Bombers heading into the series finale this afternoon.
Chicago will try to bounce back from its first loss in nearly two weeks, after committing four errors in a 7-4 loss last night to Minnesota. The White Sox have still one 26 of their last 32 games, but have fallen to 3-4 in the season series against their division rivals. Six of the seven games between the two foes have been decided by a single run. The club is 13-5 in their last 18 road games and 23-20 away from U.S. Cellular Field on the season (+660). In 12 July games, Chicago stands at 10-2 (+930) and the total is 5-7 O/U.
Los Angeles received disappointing back-to-back efforts by its top two pitchers in dropping the first two games of this four-game set in St. Louis. Thursday starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw managed to go just 4.1 innings and right-hander Chad Billingsley followed with just four innings. “Billingsley just had a bad game,” manager Joe Torre said. “He had no explanation and Kershaw didn’t either.” The offense produced 13 hits in the 8-4 losing effort last night, but stranded 12 runners. The Dodgers have still won six of their last eight games against the Cardinals, including a three-game sweep in Los Angeles on June 7-9. The club won its only game of the year as a road underdog of +150 to +175 and stands at 7-5 in this spot the last three years (+610).
Philadelphia has dropped the first two games of this four-game series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, but will now turn to its pair of aces over the weekend. “We need to win tomorrow,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “We’ll work on Sunday when we get there.” The Phillies are now a game under .500 in July (6-7, -280), after going 20-7 during the month last season. The club is still 17-10 against NL Central teams this season, which is similar to its 23-16 mark against the division in 2009. First baseman Ryan Howard has produced three home runs and six RBIs in the first two games of this series and 20 homers on the season. Don’t expect such a low-scoring game on Saturday, with the team having a 17-11 O/U mark in daytime games.
New York started its season-high 11-game road trip by getting shutout in a 2-0 loss to the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. The Mets have lost four of their last five games and have managed to score just three runs in the four losses. Despite failing to score a run, the lineup received a boost with the return of outfielder Carlos Beltran, playing his first game since May 20, 2009. “After being out for so long and going through a very long process, I was happy,” Beltran said. He went 1-for-4 last night and hit .367 with five RBI in 14 rehabilitation games. New York still holds a 14-8 series edge against the Giants over the last three years and have won the last four series in the Bay Area since 2006. The club has compiled a 14-10 record against left-handed starters this season (+420), with the total being 10-12-2 O/U in those games.
