Rays-Red Sox preview
BOSTON -- Two pitchers enjoying second-half surges hook up for the second time in less than a week when the Boston Red Sox host the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of a three-game series on Tuesday night. Drew Pomeranz, the left-hander the Red Sox acquired from the San Diego Padres in exchange for a top pitching prospect, has turned around a slow start and lost only once in his last five starts. That loss came last Thursday, when Pomeranz struck out a career-high 11 in six innings and fell to the Rays and Odorizzi in St. Petersburg. "A lot of strikeouts. Sometimes I like that, sometimes I don't," Pomeranz said after that game dropped his combined NL/AL record to 10-10. "I could have took a few quick outs in places to get a couple more innings out there." Pomeranz allowed one run through six but failed to retire either of the first two batters in the seventh and the result was a second straight Red Sox loss to send the team home 7-4 on the long road trip. He has allowed two or fewer runs over his last five starts with a 2.40 ERA over that 30-inning stretch, striking out 31 over that span. "It is disappointing," Pomeranz said of the loss. "It's always disappointing when you lose. We would have liked to have those last two to complete the road trip. But it happens." His run is lukewarm compared to Odorizzi, 6-0 since the All-Star break with what has to this point been the lowest Tampa Bay ERA (1.59) of any pitcher in club history. He has the second-lowest second-half ERA in the major leagues this season and has not lost since July 10. Odorizzi pitched out of two bases loaded spots in the sixth inning of last Thursday's game. "Have to credit (pitching coach Jim Hickey)," he said. "Great mound visit. He came out and said first-pitch changeup, get a double-play. So that's exactly what we did." Mookie Betts is 5-for-17, Dustin Pedroia 8-for-22, Xander Bogaerts 7-for-20 and Travis Shaw 4-for-10 for the Red Sox against Odorizzi, while David Ortiz is 4-for-22, but with three homers and Jackie Bradley Jr. 2-for-13. On the other side, Matt Duffy, who was with the Giants when Pomeranz was with the Padres, is 4-for-12 against him and Brad Miller 3-for-8 with a homer. Logan Forsythe, also a former Padre (but not an ex-teammate), is 2-for-11 against Pomeranz. Odorizzi will be trying to even the series for his team when he puts his winning streak on the line. The Red Sox rode Rick Porcello's MLB-high 18th win and Betts' 30th homer, RBI double, two RBIs and two runs scored to a 9-4 win on Monday night. "We just got beat tonight," said Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash, whose team is 55-75, 6-8 against the Red Sox. "They found a way to get on base, get big key hits with guys on base and it just added up, piled up and was very difficult for us to overcome." |