| 18 August 2010
John Lackey is 2-0 with a 1.88 ERA in two starts against his former team - the Angels. He's 8-7 with a 4.81 ERA against everyone else.
Since it's very unlikely that we'll see the Halos in the playoffs, that doesn't bode well for Lackey and the Sox, but it is good news for tonight's game - Game 2 of a 13-game stretch that could very well make or break the Red Sox season.
Lackey has dominated his former team this season, mirroring the teams' 8-0 run against the Angels this season. Playing in Fenway should help, since Lackey is 7-3 at home this year, but his ERA is 4.68 and opponents are hitting .299 in those games. Lackey hasn't lived up to 80 million-dollar contract this season, but they need him to step up tonight and follow Buchholz with a solid 7 innings. Last time out, Lackey went 8 in what eventually became a 5-4 loss to the Blue Jays... I'll take another outing like that, thank you.
The Angels will be countering with lefty, Scott Kazmir (8-10, 6.36). In the past, Kaz was an unwelcome sight in Boston, but since leaving Tampa Bay, he's been a mess. He's now 8-8 with a 3.94 ERA in 24 starst against the Sox, but he was pounded the last time he faced Boston - May 6, at Fenway, 4.1 IP, 7 ER, 6 H, 5 BB, 3 K. After two horrific starts in July, Kazmir has logged back-to-back solid outings in his last two games... but he continues to struggle to go beyond 6 innings.
That has been, and will be Kazmir's downfall. The Sox work the count and play well at Fenway. If Lackey can give us 6 or 7 quality innings, I'm confident the offense can take care of business against Kaz and the Angels bullpen.
Key Matchups
Dustin Pedroia is 16 for 31 (.516) with 4 doubles, a triple, 1 ding dong and 7 walks against Kazmir. If Pedey's looking to get his groove back, this might be the game... though he is hitting just .229 against southpaws this season. Option 2? V-Mart: 7 for 13 (.538), 1 HR.
Since most of the Angels still haven;t seen much of Lackey, I'll go with the hot hand... Bobby Abreu is 7 for 18 (.389) with 2 doubles and a homer over the past week. He's also seen plenty of Lackey (7 for 31 - .226) and lefties have killed Lackey this year - .300 BAA, 41 of his 59 walks.
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