Game 36: Red Sox @ Tigers

Written by Rob Munstis | 14 May 2010

Starters

Clay Buchholz (3-3, 3.82)

Max Scherzer (1-3, 6.81)

Buchholz is 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in two career starts against the Tigers. After a very strong start to the 2010 season, Buchhy has come back to earth with two mediocre starts against the Angels (4 R, 8 H, 3 BB, 2 K) and Yankees (6 R, 9 H, 5 BB, 1 K). The Tigers don't work the count as well as the Yankees do (152 BB, 1st in AL) but they're 4th in the AL with 136 and if Buchholz struggles with his command, the Tigers offense will make him pay, just like the Yankees did. Interestingly, Buchholz has been much better on the road that at home this year, winning both road starts while posting a 2.08 ERA along the way. But the Tigers are second only to the Yankees (10-2, 84%) in winning percentage at home (12-4, 75W%)...

How well Scherzer pitches could be the key to this game. Scherzer came to Detroit from Arizona, where his impressive minor league numbers never really translated into major league success. His first few starts as a Tigers were solid, holding opponents to 3 runs of less in his first four starts, but that was against the Royals, Mariners and Rangers team that was struggling at the time. Since then, he's been pounded my the Twins for 16 runs in two games and lost to the floundering Indians his last time out. Scherzer was a K-machine in the minors, but he's been very hittable as a pro, allowing a .327 BAA in 2010 and at least one ding dong in 5 of 7 games. The Sox should be able to beat this kid, which means Buchholz doesn't have to be perfect - just good.

Key Matchups

Kevin Youkilis is hitting .394 in May, and owns a .321 BA at Commerica Park to go along with 8 homers. Only Hermida and Cameron has faced Scherzer before, so I'll go with the hot hand and say Youk light him up tonight.

For Buchholz, the key will be avoiding Miguel Cabrera. He leads the AL with a .376 BA and 36 RBI and is currently riding a 12-game hitting streak.Another guy to watch is rookie outfiielder Brennan Boesch. He was 7 for 13 (.538) in the 4-game Yankees series with a double, a triple and a homer. He's a lefty and Buchholz struggles with southpaws: (.303 BAA in 2010, .284 BAA career).