GAME #38, BOSTON RED SOX AT ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

[Bear]

RED SOX V CARDINALS

TUEDAY, MAY 16, 2017, 8:15, BUSCH STADIUM

TV:  NESN, MLBN, (OUT-OF-MARKET ONLY) FS-M

BOSTON, (19-18)..........................................................................ST LOUIS, (21-15)

BOSTON:

EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ, LHP, 1-1, 2.80ERA, 42K

Rodriguez has started 2017 with a 2.80 ERA and 42 strikeouts in
35 1/3 innings.  He has thrown a quality start in each of his past
four outings, including a six-inning, one-run gem against Milwaukee
his last time out.

ST LOUIS:

LANCE LYNN, RHP, 4-1, 2.75ERA, 36K

After allowing two runs in his previous four starts combined,
Lynn was ambushed for four in his last outing.  This will be his
second career start against the Red Sox, and first since 2014
when he allowed one run over seven innings in that previous
start.

Red Sox, Cardinals ready to reignite rivalry

Ian Browne

The Red Sox and Cardinals have a unique history against each other that spans multiple generations and includes four World Series matchups, the most recent of which was in 2013.

Two of the most tradition-laden franchises in the game meet up again on Tuesday night for the start of a two-game series at Busch Stadium. The clubs will reconvene at Fenway Park for two more Aug. 15-16.

Boston and St. Louis are known for having rabid fan bases who like to travel, so don't be surprised to see a decent sampling of Red Sox Nation in St. Louis.

The Cardinals are in first place in the National League Central heading into this series, while the Red Sox are in third place in the AL East.

The Cardinals enter this series having won eight of their last nine games.

"I think you've seen collectively, the baserunning [and] defense [improve], our starting pitching is holding us down, the bullpen is starting to figure itself out and guys are getting big hits and bouncing the ball out of the ballpark," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. "There's nothing really not to like. Winning fixes everything. I think it's them believing in themselves, and I think having a run like this to show them that Spring Training wasn't just Spring Training, but this is the team we should be, so what are we going to do all season long to keep working and get better to make sure that's the result that we see?"

Meanwhile, the Red Sox are still trying to gain some consistency, as they enter this series with a 19-18 record.
"It's clearly where we are," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "We go out on the road, and we know that there's a stretch of games where we've got to perform on the road with the high number of games away from Fenway Park. The last 12 games here, it hasn't been what we'd hoped. We're in some ballgames, we let games get away. But we've got to continue to execute. Make plays, make pitches, up and down the lineup with everybody."

Lance Lynn takes the ball on Tuesday for the Cardinals, and he'll be opposed by Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez, who has been on fire of late.

Both managers -- Farrell for the Red Sox, and Matheny with St. Louis -- still remain from that 2013 Fall Classic, which
Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts are the only two current Red Sox players who were on the roster in that World Series.
However, the Cardinals still have a strong representation in the fold, including Lynn, Carlos Martinez, Trevor Rosenthal, Michael Wacha, Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina, Matt Carpenter, Kolten Wong, Kevin Siegrist and Matt Adams. And Joe Kelly, who was a starting pitcher for the Cardinals in 2013, is now a setup man for the Red Sox.

The last time the clubs met was in 2014, when the Cards took two out of three at Busch Stadium.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THIS GAME

• The Cardinals expect center fielder Dexter Fowler to return to the lineup on Tuesday. He sat on Sunday due to continued soreness in his right shoulder, stemming from a diving attempt on May 4. The biggest issue he's having is throwing.

• Without the use of the designated hitter, Farrell won't start Hanley Ramirez in either game in St. Louis. Ramirez suffered an injury to his upper right trap playing first base last week in Milwaukee.

• This series features two closers who have been red-hot of late. Boston's Craig Kimbrel entered Sunday striking out 13 of the last 15 batters he's faced, and leads the AL in saves. For the Cards, Seung Hwan Oh had a 13-inning scoreless streak entering Sunday. That stretch comes after he opened the season with six earned runs allowed over his first five appearances.

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/20170514230185158/red-sox-cardinals-ready-to-reignite-rivalry/?game_pk=490679

[Bill-806]

Looking forward to seeing  J F  making all those magic moves that  N L baseball brings !!

[ipot]

E-Rod tasked with holding STL to 1 run or less thru 7 to keep it interesting.

[Bear]

We are heading for two more "L"
iono

[Bear]

Pitching matchups for Red Sox-Cardinals series

Peter Abraham

Pitching matchups for the Red Sox-Cardinals series

Tuesday: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-1, 2.80) vs. RHP Lance Lynn (4-1, 2.75), 8:15 p.m. (ET), NESN, MLB Network.

Wednesday: RHP Rick Porcello (2-5, 4.01) vs. RHP Mike Leake (4-2, 1.94), 8:15 p.m. (ET), NESN, ESPN.

The Globe

[SeaBeachFred]

Pitching matchups for Red Sox-Cardinals series

Peter Abraham

Pitching matchups for the Red Sox-Cardinals series

Tuesday: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-1, 2.80) vs. RHP Lance Lynn (4-1, 2.75), 8:15 p.m. (ET), NESN, MLB Network.

Wednesday: RHP Rick Porcello (2-5, 4.01) vs. RHP Mike Leake (4-2, 1.94), 8:15 p.m. (ET), NESN, ESPN.

The Globe

We could win one of the two games.  Then again........

[longgame]

I suppose if one of their starters gets injured, or we get lucky in a rain shortened game, we have a chance.  Otherwise, two good pitchers against this awful lineup and they'll likely be totally unprepared for either of them.

[dgalehouse]

Anything less than .500 on this road trip could mean farewell for Farrell. Might even need to go at least 4-2 to save his job.

[Bill-806]

Anything less than .500 on this road trip could mean farewell for Farrell. Might even need to go at least 4-2 to save his job.

  B I N G O  dat !!!

[Rob from Mass]

Anything less than .500 on this road trip could mean farewell for Farrell. Might even need to go at least 4-2 to save his job.

  B I N G O  dat !!!

Hey, Bingo Billy did you hear that Holt got pulled from his AAA game last night .Recurring VERTIGO.
I guess you wrong about him.  Look up the word VERTIGO and you will see it's not something silly.

[ipot]

Pitching matchups for Red Sox-Cardinals series

Peter Abraham

Pitching matchups for the Red Sox-Cardinals series

Tuesday: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (1-1, 2.80) vs. RHP Lance Lynn (4-1, 2.75), 8:15 p.m. (ET), NESN, MLB Network.

Wednesday: RHP Rick Porcello (2-5, 4.01) vs. RHP Mike Leake (4-2, 1.94), 8:15 p.m. (ET), NESN, ESPN.

The Globe

We could win one of the two games.  Then again........

Only if we manage to score 5 runs or more.  And this is NOT a knock on our starting pitchers.  These 2 have been pretty much reliable.  Time we reward them with some run support.

[SeaBeachFred]

Anything less than .500 on this road trip could mean farewell for Farrell. Might even need to go at least 4-2 to save his job.

  B I N G O  dat !!!

It will be a cold day in hell before Prune Face gives DD permission to jettison the worthless Farrell.  For whatever reason Henry loves Farrell in that position, otherwise he would have earned his ticket out of town by now----and make no mistake guys, this team will never revive itself until Farrell is gone.

[Bear]

 Red Sox @ Cardinals G1
Betts RF
Pedroia 2B
Bogaerts SS
Benintendi LF
Moreland 1B
Vazquez C
Bradley Jr. CF
Marrero 3B
Erod LHP.

[SeaBeachFred]

Red Sox @ Cardinals G1
Betts RF
Pedroia 2B
Bogaerts SS
Benintendi LF
Moreland 1B
Vazquez C
Bradley Jr. CF
Marrero 3B
Erod LHP.

This is not a lineup that can put runs on the board and give E-Rod enough support that he can win a game for a change and not pitch his heart out for nothing.  Benintendi is NOT a cleanup hitter, certainly not yet as a rookie and Bogaerts is a singles hitter who has lost whatever power he had for whatever reason and does not do well in driving in runs, and the bottom of that lineup is garbage. Once again Farrell is showing his stubborn streak in not realizing this lineup has not been doing the job.  Good Lord, how much longer do we have to put up with this worthless excuse for a manager?

[Rob from Mass]

Red Sox @ Cardinals G1
Betts RF
Pedroia 2B
Bogaerts SS
Benintendi LF
Moreland 1B
Vazquez C
Bradley Jr. CF
Marrero 3B


Erod LHP.

This is not a lineup that can put runs on the board and give E-Rod enough support that he can win a game for a change and not pitch his heart out for nothing.  Benintendi is NOT a cleanup hitter, certainly not yet as a rookie and Bogaerts is a singles hitter who has lost whatever power he had for whatever reason and does not do well in driving in runs, and the bottom of that lineup is garbage. Once again Farrell is showing his stubborn streak in not realizing this lineup has not been doing the job.  Good Lord, how much longer do we have to put up with this worthless excuse for a manager?

Fred, sadly at the moment we don`t have a lineup that can score runs.You may be right on Beni but only Mookie can be put there but he is not and should not be moved from the leadoff spot where he has been rock solid since being put there.