Game of the Day: Boston Red Sox @ Colorado Rockies
After winning six straight, the Boston Red Sox have dropped two in a row to the Colorado Rockies, and will try to avoid a sweep tonight with the shaky Daisuke Matsuzaka getting the ball.
The winning streak had put the Red Sox back into the AL East race with the Rays and Yankees. Before the series in Denver, the Sox were trailing the Yanks by just half a game.
After Lester lost a tight pitching duel with rookie jhoulys Chacin in Game 1, Jonathan Papelbon completely imploded Wednesday night in the 9th inning. Staked to a two run lead, he allowed two home runs, including a pinch hit walk-off shot by veteran slugger Jason Giambi.
Trailing New York by two and a half games now, Dice-K will be facing off against a revitalized Jason Hammel for the Rockies.
Since returning from the disabled list, Hammel has been near perfect, going 4-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his last five starts.
Colorado may be in fourth in the NL West, but it’s just as tight a division as the AL East. The Rockies are just four games behind the surprising San Diego Padres, just one and a half games back of San Fran, and have identical 38-33 records with the Dodgers.
First pitch is at 8:40 pm EST.