Red Sox (6-11) at Angels (12-6)
Series schedule
Thursday, 10:05 p.m. on NESN
Friday, 10:05 p.m. on NESN
Saturday, 9:05 p.m. on NESN
Starting Pitchers
Thursday: Josh Beckett (2-1, 1.80) vs. Tyler Chatwood (1-1, 3.75)
Friday: Jon Lester (1-1, 3.20) vs. Dan Haren (4-0, 1.16)
Saturday: Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-2, 6.43) vs. Ervin Santana (0-2, 5.26)
Previous games
The Angels have won seven of their last nine contests, having allowed more than three runs just twice over that span. They are coming off a 4-1 victory over the Rangers on Wednesday in which Jered Weaver became the first major league pitcher to five wins.
The Red Sox are beginning to right the ship, coming off four wins in their last five. They capped a two-game split with the As on Wednesday, homering three times en route to a 5-3 win.
Head-to-head
Thursday marks the first game between these teams this season, but the Red Sox dominated the Angels in 2010. Of the 10 games between Boston and Los Angeles, the Red Sox won nine, outscoring the Angels 68-36 in the process.
Beckett kills Bobby Abreu, holding him to a .192 average and 25 strikeouts in 78 career at-bats. Vernon Wells, however, has hit Beckett hard in the past, racking up four doubles and five homers in 38 at-bats en route to a .316 average and eight RBIs. David Ortiz has seven hits in 19 at-bats (.368) against Haren, including three home runs and a triple.
Whos hot?
It would take the plague to stop Jed Lowrie right now. He homered for the third time in five games in Wednesdays win. He has at least one hit in eight of his last nine games, notching 15 total knocks over that span.
The Angels Maicer Izturis is as hot as Lowrie. He has 14 hits over his last six games, including four doubles and a home run.
Storylines
Beckett has been nearly unhittable in his last two starts, allowing just eight baserunners (five hits, three walks) in his last 15 innings on the mound. Hell start the series opener against Chatwood, who has never faced the Red Sox. Matsuzaka gets the ball in the finale, looking for continued success after his seven-inning, one-hit effort against the Blue Jays on Monday.