Having finally dropped a series to the New York Yankees, the Red Sox will try to right the ship against the Texas Rangers Friday night, as the AL West division leader comes to Boston for the first time this year.
While the last series against the Rangers was pretty much dominated by the Red Sox, Texas is of course far from being a pushover team, and have had some decent results both on the mound and at the plate since dropping 3-of-4 to Boston in Arlington. Their offense is still amongst the best, and as much as the Sox made their staff look foolish, it's generally not been a rotation to be taken lightly.
What might be of concern, however, is the question of motivation. The Red Sox are after the division crown, yes, but they've proved they can beat Texas now, and with the Wild Card race being such a blowout and Texas fighting a reasonably close race with the Angels, it just seems like the Rangers have a lot more to play for.
This isn't to say the Red Sox will be going quietly into that good night, but with the back-end of the rotation due up, and and the possibility for a bit of September malaise, it's possible that this isn't the best time to be facing off against a lefitimate contender.
Boston Red Sox (83-53) vs. Texas Rangers (78-60)
Friday, September 2, 7:10 p.m.
NESN/MLBN
Andrew Miller (6-1, 4.42 ERA) vs. Derek Holland (12-5, 4.30 ERA)
Saturday, September 3, 4:10 p.m.
FOX
Erik Bedard (4-9, 3.45 ERA) vs. Colby Lewis (11-9, 4.19 ERA)
Sunday, September 4, 1:35 p.m.
NESN/TBS
John Lackey (12-10, 5.94 ERA) vs. Matt Harrison (10-9, 3.54 ERA)