GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: BOSTON (84-56) at BALTIMORE (60-78)

AL: BOSTON (84-56) at BALTIMORE (60-78)

<h3>Wakefield to return when Red Sox face Orioles</h3>

<div class="pre">Boston (84-56) at Baltimore (60-78) 7:05 pm EDT</div>

BALTIMORE (Ticker) - Tim Wakefield will try to move back amongthe American League leaders in wins when he makes his return tothe rotation in Thursday's series opener between the Boston RedSox and the Baltimore Orioles.


Wakefield (16-10, 4.16 ERA) was the hottest pitcher in theAmerican League through much of August before a back injurycaused him to be scratched from a start over the weekend. Theveteran knuckleballer's absence in the rotation set the stagefor rookie Clay Buchholz's no-hitter on Saturday, as the teamwas forced to juggle the pitching staff.


The 41-year-old has earned wins in each of his last threestarts, not allowing a run in two outings against the Tampa BayDevil Rays and one at Chicago. Wakefield, who has earned adecision in each of his 26 outings, carries a 22-inningscoreless streak into Thursday's contest.


He earned a win in his lone start this season against Baltimore,allowing three runs and six hits in seven innings on August 2.Wakefield owns a 14-13 career mark with a 4.06 ERA in 43 games- 30 starts - against the Orioles.


The Orioles will counter with rookie Garrett Olsen (1-3, 7.22).The 23-year-old lefthander has dropped his last threedecisions, including two against the Red Sox. He was on thelosing end of Buchholz's no-hitter last Saturday, allowing fourruns and seven hits in 5 1/3 frames.


Boston lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-4, on Wednesday to snapa four-game winning streak that began when they took the finaltwo games against the Orioles at Fenway Park over the weekend.

Baltimore was tagged for 22 hits in a 17-2 loss to the Tampa BayDevil Rays on Wednesday. Orioles' pitching has surrendered 149runs in their last 15 games, an average of 9.93 per contest.

Boston leads the season series, 9-5.

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">BOSTON AT BALTIMORE -- LINEUPS

BOSTON BALTIMORE
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Julio Lugo SS .239 6 64 Brian Roberts 2B .298 10 49
Dustin Pedroia 2B .329 6 45 Corey Patterson CF .269 8 45
David Ortiz DH .317 26 94 Nick Markakis RF .294 16 90
Mike Lowell 3B .329 18 101 Miguel Tejada SS .307 17 70
Kevin Youkilis 1B .288 16 76 Kevin Millar 1B .262 14 57
Bobby Kielty LF .262 1 11 Aubrey Huff DH .273 15 65
J.D. Drew RF .254 7 49 Melvin Mora 3B .266 13 49
Coco Crisp CF .266 5 51 Luis Hernandez C .308 0 4
Doug Mirabelli C .212 5 16 Jay Payton LF .255 5 47

Tim Wakefield RHP (16-10, 4.16) Garrett Olson LHP (1-3, 7.22)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">BOSTON AT BALTIMORE -- REVISED LINEUPS

BOSTON BALTIMORE
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Julio Lugo SS .239 6 64 Brian Roberts 2B .298 10 49
Dustin Pedroia 2B .329 6 45 Corey Patterson CF .269 8 45
David Ortiz DH .317 26 94 Nick Markakis RF .294 16 90
Mike Lowell 3B .329 18 101 Miguel Tejada SS .307 17 70
Kevin Youkilis 1B .288 16 76 Kevin Millar 1B .262 14 57
Bobby Kielty LF .262 1 11 Aubrey Huff DH .273 15 65
J.D. Drew RF .254 7 49 Melvin Mora 3B .266 13 49
Coco Crisp CF .266 5 51 Ramon Hernandez C .245 8 55
Doug Mirabelli C .212 5 16 Jay Payton LF .255 5 47

Tim Wakefield RHP (16-10, 4.16) Garrett Olson LHP (1-3, 7.22)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">BOSTON AT BALTIMORE -- REVISED LINEUPS

BOSTON BALTIMORE
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Julio Lugo SS .239 6 64 Brian Roberts 2B .298 10 49
Dustin Pedroia 2B .329 6 45 Tike Redman CF .324 0 6
David Ortiz DH .317 26 94 Nick Markakis RF .294 16 90
Mike Lowell 3B .329 18 101 Miguel Tejada SS .307 17 70
Kevin Youkilis 1B .288 16 76 Kevin Millar 1B .262 14 57
Bobby Kielty LF .262 1 11 Aubrey Huff DH .273 15 65
J.D. Drew RF .254 7 49 Melvin Mora 3B .266 13 49
Coco Crisp CF .266 5 51 Ramon Hernandez C .245 8 55
Doug Mirabelli C .212 5 16 Jay Payton LF .255 5 47

Tim Wakefield RHP (16-10, 4.16) Garrett Olson LHP (1-3, 7.22)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL AT BALTIMORE
WARMUPS: BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD (16-10, 4.16)
BAL - GARRETT OLSON (1-3, 7.22)

UMPIRES: HP - WALLY BELL
1B - MIKE DIMURO
2B - BILL WELKE
3B - LAZ DIAZ

WEATHER: 89 Degrees, clear
WIND: 8 mph, out to center</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL AT BALTIMORE
STARTING BATS: BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD AND DOUG MIRABELLI
BAL - GARRETT OLSON AND RAMON HERNANDEZ

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: J LUGO (.239, 6 HR, 64 RBI)
D PEDROIA (.329, 6 HR, 45 RBI)
D ORTIZ (.317, 26 HR, 94 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 0
BALTIMORE 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD
BAL - GARRETT OLSON

DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: B ROBERTS (.298, 10 HR, 49 RBI)
T REDMAN (.324, 0 HR, 6 RBI)
N MARKAKIS (.294, 16 HR, 90 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">BOSTON (0) VS BALTIMORE (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .328
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
M Lowell 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .329
K Youkilis 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
B Kielty lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .262
J Drew rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
C Crisp cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266
D Mirabelli c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


BALTIMORE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
B Roberts 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .298
T Redman cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .324
N Markakis rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .294
M Tejada ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .307
K Millar 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .262
A Huff dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
M Mora 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266
R Hernandez c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .245
J Payton lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .255

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 0 -- 0
BALTIMORE - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
T Wakefield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.16

BALTIMORE ip h r er bb so hr era
G Olson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.98

Pitches-strikes: G Olson 6-5. Ground balls-fly balls: G Olson 1-2. Batters
faced: G Olson 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Wally Bell. 1B--Mike Dimuro. 2B--Bill Welke. 3B--Laz Diaz.

Weather: 89 degrees, clear. Wind: 8 mph, out to center.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL AT BALTIMORE
CONFIRMED STARTERS: BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD
BAL - GARRETT OLSON</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MIGUEL TEJADA SCORED TIKE REDMAN.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M TEJADA ON FIRST, N MARKAKIS ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 0
BALTIMORE 1 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: K MILLAR (.262, 14 HR, 57 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 0
BALTIMORE 1 1 2 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD
BAL - GARRETT OLSON

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M LOWELL (.329, 18 HR, 101 RBI)
K YOUKILIS (.288, 16 HR, 76 RBI)
B KIELTY (.262, 1 HR, 11 RBI)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">BOSTON (0) VS BALTIMORE (1) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .328
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
M Lowell 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .329
K Youkilis 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
B Kielty lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .262
J Drew rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254
C Crisp cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266
D Mirabelli c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


BALTIMORE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
B Roberts 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .297
T Redman cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .342
N Markakis rf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .294
M Tejada ss 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .308
K Millar 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .261
A Huff dh 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .273
M Mora 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .265
R Hernandez c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .245
J Payton lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .255

Totals 5 1 2 1 2 0 5

BATTING: RBI - M Tejada (71). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Mora
2. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: SB - T Redman (3, 2nd base off T Wakefield/D Mirabelli).


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 0 -- 0
BALTIMORE - 1 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
T Wakefield 1 2 1 1 2 0 0 4.19

BALTIMORE ip h r er bb so hr era
G Olson 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.98

Pitches-strikes: T Wakefield 24-11; G Olson 6-5. Ground balls-fly balls: T
Wakefield 1-2; G Olson 1-2. Batters faced: T Wakefield 7; G Olson 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Wally Bell. 1B--Mike Dimuro. 2B--Bill Welke. 3B--Laz Diaz.

Weather: 89 degrees, clear. Wind: 8 mph, out to center.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 1 0
BALTIMORE 1 1 2 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD
BAL - GARRETT OLSON

DUE UP FOR BALTIMORE: R HERNANDEZ (.245, 8 HR, 55 RBI)
J PAYTON (.255, 5 HR, 47 RBI)
B ROBERTS (.297, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">BOSTON (0) VS BALTIMORE (1) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .328
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
M Lowell 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .329
K Youkilis 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .290
B Kielty lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .258
J Drew rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .253
C Crisp cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266
D Mirabelli c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212

Totals 7 0 1 0 0 1 2

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


BALTIMORE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
B Roberts 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .297
T Redman cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .342
N Markakis rf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .294
M Tejada ss 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .308
K Millar 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .261
A Huff dh 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .273
M Mora 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .265
R Hernandez c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .245
J Payton lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .255

Totals 5 1 2 1 2 0 5

BATTING: RBI - M Tejada (71). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Mora
2. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: SB - T Redman (3, 2nd base off T Wakefield/D Mirabelli).


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 00 -- 0
BALTIMORE - 1 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
T Wakefield 1 2 1 1 2 0 0 4.19

BALTIMORE ip h r er bb so hr era
G Olson 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 6.75

Pitches-strikes: T Wakefield 24-11; G Olson 20-16. Ground balls-fly balls: T
Wakefield 1-2; G Olson 2-3. Batters faced: T Wakefield 7; G Olson 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Wally Bell. 1B--Mike Dimuro. 2B--Bill Welke. 3B--Laz Diaz.

Weather: 89 degrees, clear. Wind: 8 mph, out to center.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
BOSTON 0 0 0 1 0
BALTIMORE 1 0 1 2 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: BOS - TIM WAKEFIELD
BAL - GARRETT OLSON

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: C CRISP (.266, 5 HR, 51 RBI)
D MIRABELLI (.212, 5 HR, 16 RBI)
J LUGO (.239, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">BOSTON (0) VS BALTIMORE (1) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

BOSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Lugo ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239
D Pedroia 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .328
D Ortiz dh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .316
M Lowell 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .329
K Youkilis 1b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .290
B Kielty lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .258
J Drew rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .253
C Crisp cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266
D Mirabelli c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .212

Totals 7 0 1 0 0 1 2

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


BALTIMORE ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
B Roberts 2b 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .297
T Redman cf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .342
N Markakis rf 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .294
M Tejada ss 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .308
K Millar 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .261
A Huff dh 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .273
M Mora 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 .265
R Hernandez c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .244
J Payton lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .255

Totals 8 1 2 1 2 0 5

BATTING: RBI - M Tejada (71). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Mora
2. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: SB - T Redman (3, 2nd base off T Wakefield/D Mirabelli).


----------------------------------------------------
BOSTON - 00 -- 0
BALTIMORE - 10 -- 1
----------------------------------------------------

BOSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
T Wakefield 2 2 1 1 2 0 0 4.17

BALTIMORE ip h r er bb so hr era
G Olson 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 6.75

Pitches-strikes: T Wakefield 39-20; G Olson 20-16. Ground balls-fly balls: T
Wakefield 2-4; G Olson 2-3. Batters faced: T Wakefield 10; G Olson 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Wally Bell. 1B--Mike Dimuro. 2B--Bill Welke. 3B--Laz Diaz.

Weather: 89 degrees, clear. Wind: 8 mph, out to center.</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY JULIO LUGO SCORED COCO CRISP.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J LUGO ON FIRST, D MIRABELLI ON SECOND, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 1
BALTIMORE 1 TOP, 3RD

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D PEDROIA (.328, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL AT BALTIMORE - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: R Clayton ran for D Mirabelli.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, J LUGO ON FIRST, R CLAYTON ON SECOND, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 1
BALTIMORE 1 TOP, 3RD

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: D Pedroia (.328, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL AT BALTIMORE - SCORING UPDATE
GROUND OUT BY DAVID ORTIZ SCORED ROYCE CLAYTON.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, J LUGO ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: BOSTON 2
BALTIMORE 1 TOP, 3RD

DUE UP FOR BOSTON: M LOWELL (.329, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: BOSTON at BALTIMORE

<div class="pre">AL BOSTON AT BALTIMORE
NOTE: BOSTON CATCHER DOUG MIRABELLI LEFT THE GAME IN THE
TOP OF THE THIRD INNING WITH AN APPARENT LEFT LEG INJURY.</div>