Tim Wakefield will once again take the mound looking for his 200th win, making his first attempt at the milestone victory since August 26, when he allowed eight runs (four earned, though he did his fair share to help them score). He's pitched since then, throwing four scoreless innings in mop-up duty in Andrew Miller's implosion against the Rangers, so at least he's on something of a roll.
The good news is that he'll have a strong offensive unit behind him, with the weakest links being Marco Scutaro, Josh Reddick, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia--a group that produced six hits including two homers in Tuesday night's game.
Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz have once again switched places as well, which could perhaps signify a permanent swap depending on whether or not it's a lefty or righty on the mound.
Boston Red Sox (85-56)
- Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
- Dustin Pedroia, 2B
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- David Ortiz, DH
- Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
- Carl Crawford, LF
- Marco Scutaro, SS
- Josh Reddick, RF
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
Adam Lind will be missing from the Blue Jay's lineup, with Adam Loewen acting as his effective replacement.
Toronto Blue Jays (70-72)
- Yunel Escobar, SS
- Eric Thames, LF
- Jose Bautista, DH
- Edwin Encarnacion, 1B
- Kelly Johnson, 2B
- Brett Lawrie, 3B
- Adam Loewen, RF
- J.P. Arencibia, C
- Mike McCoy, CF
Pitching Matchup: Tim Wakefield (6-6, 4.95 ERA) vs. Brandon Morrow (9-10, 4.78 ERA)
Oh Tim Wakefield. The futility of his quest for his 200th win has reached historic proportions. Unfortunately he hasn't even had the knowledge that he pitched well to soften the blow of late. While the injury to Josh Beckett and Erik Bedard's sore knee could give the knuckleballer more shots than maybe he would have otherwise expected, Wakefield needs to get this thing out of the way now. Because after 2011, it's not clear there will be another chance.
Don't judge Brandon Morrow entirely on his ERA; the Toronto righty's results don't match his peripherals. But the issue could also have to do with his ability to pitch out of the stretch. Morrow's numbers with runners on base stand in stark contrast to his numbers without, so having on-base machines like Dustin Pedroia and--this year--Jacoby Ellsbury up early in their lineup could prove invaluable.