July 14, 2006

G88: Athletics 15, Red Sox 3

@#*&%

So much for not having Papelbon pitch a second inning last night, so he could be fresh tonight.

Jerry Trupiano in the third inning: "Throwing two straight curveballs to Frank Thomas is like going into a lion cage ... with a stick, and trying to annoy the lion." ... And again, in the middle of the fourth: "The A's broke three bats that inning, but they scored two times." They broke some bats -- who cares?


***

Mid-5th: Josh Beckett continues to think he can blow AL hitters away solely with his fastball. He gets pounded and then goes out five days later and refuses to change his approach (media reports have said he scorns the type of prep work Curt Schilling does). So the light-hitting A's lineup battered him tonight (4.2-8-7-4-3, 94), raising his ERA to 5.12. ... Barry Zito is not having much trouble, and he leads 7-0 after five.

***

Barry Zito (3.29) / Josh Beckett (4.75), 7 PM

Beckett has a 2.54 ERA in seven Fenway starts this year. The A's are dead last in MLB in both batting average (.244) and slugging percentage (.389 (the only team under .400)). However, they are in the middle of the pack in home runs -- and 9th in the AL -- so Beckett should still be careful.

In his last outing, Zito held the Angels to three runs over eight innings, but John Lackey tossed a one-hitter. ... In his six losses this year, the A's have scored a total of three runs. ... David Ortiz is batting .421 (8-for-19) against Zito.

In their last two games, the Red Sox have played 30 innings in 10:42.

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