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Sun Oct 27, 2013 1:24am EDT
MLB Team Report - Boston Red Sox - INSIDE PITCH
In Game 1, the Red Sox looked like they were going to roll over the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. Two games later, it is the Red Sox who appear to be in trouble.
The Red Sox suffered a hard-to-take 5-4 loss Saturday night in Game 3 at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning on a rare obstruction call against Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks.
The Red Sox now trail 2-1 in the best-of-series, dropping back-to-back games after winning the opener in an 8-1 rout on Wednesday at Boston.
Further complicating matters for the Red Sox is that they don't know what they will get from right-hander Clay Buchholz, who is scheduled to start Game 4 on Sunday night against Lance Lynn. Buchholz has been experiencing right shoulder fatigue and there was question earlier in the week if he would be able to pitch in the series.
The Red Sox are confident enough in Buchholz that he will start.
"We go in thinking he's going to give us what he's been in the postseason," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "That might be a little bit shorter outing that what we've seen back in April and May but he's been effective in the postseason and we're fully anticipating that."
However, they will also have right-hander Ryan Dempster and left-hander Felix Doubront available for long relief. Though both pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in the postseason, Dempster made 29 starts in the regular-season and Doubront started 27 times.
Buchholz was 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA in the regular season, though he was limited to 16 starts because of a strained neck. He has make three starts in this postseason without a decision, posting a 5.40 ERA, and is 0-0 with a 4.98 ERA in four career postseason starts.
After going 15-10 with a 3.97 ERA in 33 regular-season starts, Lynn has been shaky in the postseason. Though he has a 2-1 record this October, his ERA is 5.40 in three games, including two starts.
Lynn has a 5-3 career record in the postseason with a 4.81 ERA in 19 games, including three starts.
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MLB Team Report - Boston Red Sox - NOTES, QUOTES
WORLD SERIES: Cardinals 2, Red Sox 1
NEXT: Red Sox (Clay Buchholz, regular season: 12-1, 1.74, postseason: 0-0, 5.40) at Cardinals (Lance Lynn, regular season: 15-10, 3.97, postseason: 2-1, 5.40)
PLAYER NOTES:
--RHP Jake Peavy lasted just four innings before being pulled for pinch-hitter Mike Carp in the fifth. Peavy gave up six hits and two runs, actually lowering his career postseason EAR under 10.00. Peavy allowed both runs in the first, but did a great job of pitching out of fourth inning trouble as he escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam without allowing a run.
--RHP Clay Buchholz will start Game 4 although he's not at 100 percent due to injuries that sidetracked a potential Cy Young season. Buchholz is 0-0, 5.40 in three postseason starts, giving up 19 hits, 10 runs and three homers in 16 2/3 innings. Expect manager John Farrell to have a short leash with Buchholz if he runs into too much trouble.
--3B Will Middlebrooks was 0-for-2 after entering as a seventh inning pinch-hitter for Stephen Drew, but his role in this game won't soon be forgotten. Middlebrooks was called for obstruction on Allen Craig in the bottom of the ninth, an error which allowed the winning run to score. Farrell sympathized with Middlebrooks. "I don't know how he gets out of the way when he's lying on the ground," the manager said of Middlebrooks.
--1B David Ortiz is swinging a scalding bat and the Cardinals want no part of him in a game-changing moment. Ortiz was 1-of-2 with two walks, making him 5-for-8 with two homers in the World Series. St. Louis intentionally walked him in the eighth with two on and one out, putting the potential go-ahead run on base.
--3B Xander Bogaerts became the third-youngest player to ever triple in a World Series game when he did so to start the fifth. The only other players to triple at a younger age are Hall of Famers Ty Cobb (1907) and Mickey Mantle (1952). Bogaerts' RBI single in the eighth made him the youngest player in World Series history to ever knock in a game-tying run.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's a tough way to lose. By the letter of the rule, it's the right call. But it's a tough one to swallow." -- Manager John Farrell, after the first walkoff obstruction call in World Series history on Saturday gave the Cardinals a 2-1 lead in the series.
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MLB Team Report - Boston Red Sox - ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
--RHP Andrew Bailey (right shoulder strain) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to July 13, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on Aug. 19. He underwent season-ending surgery July 24.
--RHP Alex Wilson (sprained right thumb) went on the 15-day disabled list July 9, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on Aug. 31. He began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket on July 30 but was shut down after feeling further soreness.
--LHP Andrew Miller (torn ligament in left foot) went on the 15-day disabled list July 7, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on July 12. He had season-ending surgery in July and expects to be ready for spring training.
--RHP Joel Hanrahan (right forearm strain) went on the 15-day disabled list May 7, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on May 9. He had season-ending Tommy John surgery May 16.
--OF Ryan Kalish (right shoulder surgery in January 2012) went on the 60-day disabled list Feb. 20. He has missed most of the past two seasons with shoulder and neck problems. On Aug. 13, he underwent cervical fusion surgery, which involved joining several bones in the neck to relieve pain.
ROTATION:
LHP Jon Lester
RHP John Lackey
RHP Jake Peavy
RHP Clay Buchholz
BULLPEN:
RHP Koji Uehara (closer)
RHP Junichi Tazawa
LHP Craig Breslow
RHP Brandon Workman
LHP Franklin Morales
LHP Felix Doubront
RHP Ryan Dempster
CATCHERS:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
David Ross
INFIELDERS:
1B Mike Napoli
2B Dustin Pedroia
SS Stephen Drew
3B Xander Bogaerts
DH David Ortiz
INF Will Middlebrooks
OUTFIELDERS:
LF Jonny Gomes
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
RF Shane Victorino
OF Daniel Nava
OF Mike Carp
OF Quintin Berry
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