The Red Sox return home after a 10-game road trip and face off against a banged up Tigers club.
Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox
Detroit has lost 13 of its last 16 games and has fallen into third place in the AL Central race. “We’re in emergency mode,” manager Jim Leyland said after Thursday’s loss in Tampa. “When I say that, I’m saying we just have to fight our tails off every day.” This three-game series at Fenway will cap an 11-game stretch against the AL East foes for the club. The Tigers are currently 2-6 in that span and 10-8 against the division this season. Detroit may find itself as a +225 to +250 road underdog for just the second time in three years, while they are a dismal 16-33 overall away from Comerica Park (-1,750). The team has lost 22 of its last 30 games in Boston and has dropped 10 straight overall on the road.
Boston has dropped nine of its last 12 games and have fallen 6.5 games back of the New York Yankees in the AL East race. The Red Sox offense sputtered in the first series back from the All-Star break, scoring just 11 runs in four home games against the AL West-leading Texas Rangers. The lineup still leads the majors in runs despite the recent slump, which has been caused by having four regular contributors on the disabled list. The Red Sox are 22-20 on the road this season and are in a stretch of playing 14 straight games against the AL West division, traveling to Seattle and Anaheim after this series. Boston is 9-5 against Western opponents so far in 2010.
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.
Boston continues a seven-day, six-game road trip with the second of three games, after clobbering the Toronto Blue Jays 14-3 at the Rogers Centre. The team now comes in carrying a 6-1 series advantage, after compiling an 11-7 series win in 2009. The Red Sox have now won seven straight games at the venue and broke a four-game losing streak in which the team scored just 12 runs. “We kind of needed that,” said manager Terry Francona. At 50-36, the club is tied for the fourth-best record in baseball, behind only the Yankees, Rays and Braves. The Red Sox hope to improve upon their 7-12 daytime record this year (-870), as the team is 7-3 on artificial turf (+480). The team hasn’t always been successful on the face stuff, going 25-33 the last three years (-880).
