The Red Sox will have Kevin Youkilis back in their lineup Tuesday night as they try to snap a five-game losing streak that has Sox fans and players alike panicking.
Now the Sox face the exact same pitching matchup that started their slide, as Tim Wakefield will have to take on Brandon Morrow and the Blue Jays once again.
The last time, the issue came, depressingly, in the eighth, when Daniel Bard gave up an 8-5 lead that seemed certain to give Wakefield his 200th win. The game could still have resulted in a team win, but some curious bullpen management from Terry Francona led to Matt Albers entering a tie game with the bases loaded, and to a bases-clearing double that sealed things for the Sox.
Once again, the Sox will have a lineup that can score 11 runs. The only question is whether the pitching can give up fewer than 12.
Boston Red Sox (85-61)
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Kevin Youkilis, 3B
- Josh Reddick, RF
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Marco Scutaro, SS
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Toronto Blue Jays (74-73)
- Mike McCoy, SS
- Eric Thames, LF
- Jose Bautista, RF
- Edwin Encarnacion, DH
- David Cooper, 1B
- Brett Lawrie, 3B
- J.P. Arencibia, C
- Adam Loewen, CF
- Chris Woodward, 2B
The Red Sox know this matchup all too well, and they've won it as recently as last week. Brandon Morrow poses absolutely no troubles to the Red Sox, against whom he can boast only one start that could even be called as good as mediocre in three chances. Morrow has given up hit after hit after hit to the Sox, and for what it's worth, the offense hasn't been the biggest problem for the Sox during their bad run.
What has been is the pitching, and it must be said that more Tim Wakefield isn't terribly likely to improve the situation. Aside from a strong relief outing, Wakefield has allowed three or four earned runs, and often quite a few unearned in each of his last 13 starts. Now, against Morrow the lower ends of that could well be good enough, but there's not many teams out there with offense enough to overcome a Wakefield implosion.