| 13 August 2010
"Only steers and queers come from Texas private cowboy!"
So which Josh Beckett will we see tonight?
Beckett was "strong like bull" in his 8-inning start against the Indians, but against the Yankees, well, he looked... um... well, let's just say he didn't pitch very well.
Tonight, he gets the Texas Rangers. He's 2-2 with a 4.82 ERA in 6 starts against the Rangers and the last time he faced them, he got tagged for 7 runs on 7 hits and 5 walks. It doesn't get much uglier than that...
... but his last start is a close second. Beckett said he felt good physically against the Yankees, but didn't execute his pitches. The result was a 5-run 5th that the Red Sox never recovered from. If Beckett struggles with his control again tonight, The Rangers are more than capable of putting another crooked number on the scoreboard. They're 3rd in the majors with a .274 BA, 6th in runs at 562 and 8th in OPS (.759) and slugging (.420).
Tommy Hunter will get the start for Texas. Hunter got a late start on the season due to injury, but has quietly been one of the better starters in the AL since June 1st. He encountered his first major hurtle two starts ago in LA, when he coughed up 8 runs on 8 hits (2 HR) and lasted just 3 innings. But he bounced back with a solid outing in Seattle, blanking the M's through 6+, despite 8 hits and 2 walks.
We just saw Hunter back on July 15th, and things did no go well for us... Wake coughed up 6 runs in the first inning and the Sox only mustered two runs, a solo shot from Drew in the 4th and a Billy Hall Blast in the 7th. Hunter got the win and the Rangers almost swept that series, if not for Youk's game-tying homer in the 9th and his sac fly in the 11th.
Key Matchups
Most of the Sox haven't seen much of Hunter. He's not a big K guy, but he doesn't walk many either, therefore, I'm going with the aggressive approach of Billy Hall. He took Hunter deep last time and had two ding dongs in the game on Wednesday... the dry Texas air should do him good.
For Beckett, the obvious guy to avoid is Josh Hamilton. He's 4 for 9 (.444) with a homer against Beckett leads the AL with a .357 average. Another guy to keep any on is the speedy Elvin Andrus. He's riding a 3-game hitting streak and can cause trouble on the bases.
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