GAME: Boston Red Sox (63-49) at Tampa Bay Rays (58-55)
DATE/TIME: Tuesday, August 08 - 7:10 PM EST
WHERE: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
LINE: N/A TOTAL: N/A
Preview: Red Sox at Rays
Gracenote
Aug 7, 2017
Second baseman Dustin Pedroia could return to a lineup suddenly crowded with more than capable infielders as the first-place Boston Red Sox begin a crucial five-game road trip Tuesday with the first of two against the Tampa Bay Rays. Pedroia missed eight contests with a knee injury, but Boston turned a half-game deficit to New York in the American League East into a three-game lead during that span with a weekend series looming at Yankee Stadium.
"He had a good day (Sunday) … BP, aggressive infield and ground-ball work," Red Sox manager John Farrell told reporters about Pedroia, who is batting .307 and could ease his way back Tuesday as the designated hitter. "Tuesday is still a possibility for him to return to us." Boston went 7-1 in Pedroia's absence as third baseman Rafael Devers burst onto the scene by batting .349 with three home runs in his first 11 major league games and utilityman Eduardo Nunez is hitting .400 with four blasts in nine contests since being acquired from San Francisco at the trade deadline. Tampa Bay, which is 5 1/2 games behind the Red Sox but in a virtual tie with Kansas City for the final AL wild card spot, defeated Milwaukee 2-1 on Sunday when Steven Souza Jr. delivered the Rays' first walk-off home run since May 22, 2014. Boston ace and AL Cy Young Award favorite Chris Sale is coming off his worst outing of the season in which his 21 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings streak was snapped and opposes rookie Austin Pruitt, who makes his fourth career start and third in a row after shutting down Houston on Wednesday.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston), FSN Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH Chris Sale (13-4, 2.70 ERA) vs. Rays RH Austin Pruitt (6-2, 5.65)
Sale received a no-decision after allowing seven runs, eight hits and one walk while striking out five - a season low - in five innings of Boston's 12-10 victory over Cleveland on Aug. 1. The 28-year-old Floridian, who leads the majors with 216 strikeouts while standing third in WHIP (0.91) and tied for fourth in ERA through Sunday's games, had yielded nine runs over his previous eight starts. Evan Longoria is 3-for-30 with 13 strikeouts versus Sale, who fell to 6-5 with a 3.67 ERA in 13 games (11 starts) versus Tampa Bay, 2-3, 2.11 in six games (five starts) at Tropicana Field and 2-1, 3.43 this season against the Rays after permitting four runs in a 4-1 loss July 6.
Pruitt allowed five hits and a walk while striking out three in 6 1/3 innings of a 3-0 victory over the Astros, who lead the majors in run scored. The 27-year-old Texan, who is 1-1 with a 3.14 ERA as a starter, was recalled from Triple-A Durham on July 28 and lost at Yankee Stadium 6-1 that night after yielding five runs and four hits (three homers) in five innings. Pruitt, a ninth-round draft pick in 2013 by the Rays out of the University of Houston, is 5-1 with a 6.91 ERA in relief - a number inflated by allowing five runs and 11 hits in 3 1/3 innings over two appearances at Fenway Park in April.
WALK-OFFS
1. Tampa Bay is 0-for-18 with runners in scoring position in its last three games and 2-for-33 in its past four, falling to fourth-worst in the majors at .235 in such situations entering Monday.
2. Boston DH Hanley Ramirez (.250, 17 home runs, 42 RBIs) missed the last two games with soreness in both obliques, but Farrell told reporters it wasn't a "DL situation.''
3. Rays 1B Lucas Duda is 10-for-31 with three home runs and four RBIs in 10 games since being acquired from the New York Mets after going 2-for-4 on Sunday.
PREDICTION: Red Sox 3, Rays 0
