Tonight, at 10:15 p.m. ET, the first place Boston Red Sox (74-53) do battle with the last place San Francisco Giants (55-69) in game two of a three-game interleague series between the two teams at AT&T Park in San Francisco. The game can be live streamed here. Red Sox fans can get in on the action by turning their radios to WEEI 93.7, while Giants fans can do the same by setting their dials to KNBR 680.
Boston is coming off of a 7-0 romping of San Francisco Monday night. Jake Peavy, who is 1-1 with a 5.00 ERA for Boston after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox last month before the MLB trade deadline and is 9-5 with a 4.41 ERA between the two teams in 2013, will toe the rubber for Boston.
San Francisco will throw Ryan Vogelsong at the Sox. Vogelsong has made just 11 starts this season due to being sidelined for three months with a fractured right hand and is 2-4 with a 6.75 ERA.
The Red Sox hold just a one game lead over the second place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East, and could use all hands on deck down the stretch. Due to Boston entering the last few weeks of the season in a tight race for the division crown, the team has called up highly touted prospect Xander Bogaerts. Bogaerts, who hit .284 with nine homers and 32 RBIs in 60 games for Triple-A Pawtucket this season, got the call yesterday and is expected to make his Major League debut in tonight's game.
Bogaerts is expected to alternate time with current shortstop Stephen Drew (.248, nine HR 49 RBIs), but Red Sox manager John Farrell insists it won't be a platoon, rather Bogaerts will just be used to give his regular starters on the left side of the infield some rest.
"He'll rotate through the left side of the infield," Farrell told MLB.com Monday. "As [general manager] Ben [Cherington] and I and others talk about our position players coming down the stretch here, we're trying to build in some scheduled down days, and Xander will provide that at shortstop with Stephen [Drew]. The reason we brought Xander was a right-handed bat to complement him. That's not to say a platoon situation by any means."
Peavy will make his fourth start for the Red Sox tonight while Vogelsong will make just his 12th start of the year. Vogelsong still hasn't gotten back into form since his return from the injury, and has reportedly lost 2-3 mph on his fastball and is still trying to find his strength. It's been a frustrating process for Vogelsong.
"It's a little frustrating because I know I'm behind and everybody else is in midseason form," Vogelsong said after his last start, according to MLB.com.
Vogelsong went just 3.3 innings in his last outing against the Washington Nationals, allowing three runs on six hits and landing a no-decision while striking out three and walking three.
Vogelsong's frustration is just the latest in a forgetful season for the Giants. After winning the team's second World Series in three years last season, San Francisco is 17 games behind the first place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and 15.5 games behind the Cincinnati Reds for the second wildcard spot. Meanwhile the Red Sox, who will be without first baseman Mike Napoli (.246, 15 HR 69 RBIs) for the third straight game due to plantar fasciitis, look to extend their lead in the AL East at the Giants expense.
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