Bosox Board

Set to make his final regular start, Morton set a career high in wins (13).  In his
past 11 starts, he's 6-3 with a 3.00 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 66 innings.  He has a
1.09 WHIP in that span with 10.36 strikeout per nine.

The veteran right-hander had been on a roll until struggling mightily in his last
3 starts, giving up 14 runs over 11 1/3 innings.  Fister is 3-6 with a 4.93 ERA in nine
appearances at Fenway this season.

The Red Sox will try to lock up the American League East by sending Doug Fister to the mound Friday night against the Astros at Fenway Park. He'll face right-hander Charlie Morton, who's 13-7 with a 3.63 ERA this year after replacing Fister in the Astros' rotation.

Even though they lost to the Astros in Thursday's series opener, the Red Sox's AL East magic number was cut to one when the Yankees fell to the Rays. The Red Sox could actually clinch the division title before their game Friday night if the Yankees lose to the Blue Jays on Friday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

The AL West champion Astros are one game behind the AL Central champion Indians for the best record in the AL, but the Indians own the tiebreaker. Houston would have to finish a game ahead of Cleveland to get the AL's top seed for the postseason. The Astros recorded their 99th win Thursday and are looking to notch 100 wins for only the second time in franchise history.

If the standings hold, the Astros and Red Sox would open the AL Division Series presented by Doosan on Thursday in Houston after ending the season with four games against each other.

"It is just kind of how the chips fell," Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts said. "It would be kind of weird seeing them that many times in a row. You gotta do what you gotta do."

It would be just the fourth time in history that two teams that met in the final series of the regular season also squared off for the start of the postseason. The last time it happened was in 2013, when the Pirates swept the Reds on the final weekend of the season and then defeated Cincinnati in the National League Wild Card Game.

"I know there's a lot at stake, there's a lot of familiarity that's going to happen over the next four days," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "We don't know what's going to happen at the end of the weekend. We need to get our guys ready for the playoffs. We may play these guys, we might not. If the weekend presents itself as it's a little clearer picture for us or for them, maybe things change."

After going through a dominant stretch in which many thought he'd make the postseason roster as a starter, Fister has fallen off over his last three starts, combining to allow 14 runs on 19 hits in 11 1/3 innings. In his last start against Cincinnati, he allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings for a no-decision.

Morton, making his final regular-season start, has already set a career high in wins. In his last 11 starts, he's 6-3 with a 3.00 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 66 innings. He has a 1.09 WHIP in that span with 10.36 strikeouts per nine innings.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS GAME

• Morton has allowed only a .175 expected batting average in September, according to Statcast, based on the quality of contact made against him and his 29 strikeouts in 23 innings. That xBA ranks fifth among all starters this month (minimum 50 at-bats).

• The Astros have scored 11 or more runs in four straight games, which is a club record.

• Jose Altuve recorded three hits Thursday, including a double, giving him 203 knocks this season. He needs one double to become the first player in Major League history with four separate seasons of at least 200 hits, 40 doubles and 30 stolen bases.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170928256627850/fister-faces-astros-with-sox-on-cusp-of-clinch/?game_pk=492490