|
BOSTON -- A short outing under his belt his last time out, Red Sox righty Kyle Weiland is getting the nod on three days' in rest in the first game of a day-night doubleheader against the Orioles on Monday. John Lackey remains the starter for the nightcap. Game 1 at Fenway Park is set for 1:05 p.m. ET, and the second for 7:10 p.m.Erik Bedard, who's been sidelined because of lat and knee injuries, fox sports was previously a candidate to start in the early game, but he's scheduled to pitch on Tuesday night. Josh Beckett then goes on Wednesday night, carrying the Red Sox into an off-day Thursday. "There was some thought to pitching Bedard the first game [Monday], but we really wanted to talk to him a little bit more and see if another day, after throwing that side [on Saturday], would be to his benefit fox sports ," manager Terry Francona said. "Which he thought it was. That's why we were waiting. "Weiland had thrown 61 pitches, so he's fine to come back, either way. He had known before, potentially, what was going on. All the pitchers did. I have no idea how, again, we're going to need to see how long Erik stays out there. There's a lot of things going on, obviously, and we have a day off, too." Francona fox sports said Bedard, who last pitched on Sept. 3, likely wouldn't reach the 100-pitch mark. As for Weiland, he went three innings on Thursday against the Rays. Coming back on three days' rest is a first for him, but he expects he'll be fine. "I've never come back on a fourth day, but usually I throw 90 or more pitches," the rookie said, referring to his low pitch count last time out. "Every day four for m fox sports e, I usually feel like I could pitch that day. With 30 less pitches, and the fact that I usually feel ready to go on day four, I'm not too concerned." Weiland adjusted his usual prep schedule this week in preparation for the start, skipping a traditional side session but nonetheless getting in his work. Adrian mum on whether right shoulder is ailing BOSTON -- Seasons have ebb and flows, but Ad fox sports rian Gonzalez's has taken a noticeable turn since July. Still productive despite going hitless in his last three games entering Sunday, Gonzalez is hitting .271 in September, following an August where he hit .283. Those are fine numbers, just not Gonzalez-esque numbers: the lowest average he put up in the first four calendar months of the season was .314, and the highest an astounding .404. On Sat fox sports urday, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported that Gonzalez said his right shoulder -- the one that was surgically operated on after last season -- was feeling fatigued. Gonzalez declined to discuss whether the shoulder was weak on Saturday and Sunday, while manager Terry Francona provided an answer, albeit one of little detail. "You know what? Maybe," Francona said. "I don't know. I don't feel the n fox sports eed to announce every single bump and bruise and inadequacy that we have. That's not going to help us win at all." Rosenthal also reported that Gonzalez was "unable to take" batting practice on the field Saturday, which Francona clarified as an every-other-day situation that wasn't new. "That's a little hard for me. Gonzi has been taking BP every other day on the field for about a month and a half fox sports ," Francona said. "When FOX comes in and announces that, they could have announced it in July, and then I have to answer it. That's not any big surprise. He's backed off for a long time." Gonzalez's on-base percentage in September is strong at .435, as is his slugging percentage, at .542. But he acknowledged Saturday that he doesn't feel right at the plate mechanically, making that statement in re fox sports sponse to a question that was not about his shoulder. "We're, well, I shouldn't say we are, but personally, I'm swinging at pitches I shouldn't be swinging at," Gonzalez said after the Sox fell to the Rays, 4-3, on Saturday. "I'm not mechanically right and chasing pitches down. I could have walked every at-bat this series so far. I'm just trying to get too overaggressive and trying to make things fox sports happen instead of just taking walks." With Youk, Lowrie out, Aviles filling in nicely BOSTON -- When Mike Aviles arrived in Boston at the non-waiver Trade Deadline, he was joining a team that seemed destined for the playoffs and perhaps even the World Series.The Red Sox were winning without him, but he didn't want to just skate along and ride the success of his new teammates -- he wanted to co fox sports ntribute.And with the injuries to Jed Lowrie (left shoulder) and Kevin Youkilis (hip bursitis, sports hernia), Aviles has been getting more chances than he originally expected, and making the most of them.Moved to the No. 2 spot in the batting order on Sunday, Aviles went 2-for-5 with a double and a three-run homer, giving him two home runs in the last three days."That was my whole mentality when fox sports I came over here," said Aviles, who is hitting .364 with seven RBIs in 30 games with Boston. "It wasn't just to come over here and be along for the ride. I wanted to come and show that I can help out any way I can, whether it was coming in and playing once a week or once every two weeks or pinch-running or pinch-hitting, whatever they called upon for me to do."It feels good to contribute, and we'v fox sports e got 11 games left to try to win some ballgames."While Aviles did miss the target with two throws from third base during Sunday's 8-5 loss to the Rays, to which he said, "I just threw them away, there's nothing else to say," his defensive ability has impressed manager Terry Francona."He's handled himself really well wherever we've put him," the skipper said. "It was a stretch putting him in right fox sports field, but it probably wasn't altogether fair to him. But he was willing to do it, and, at some point, that is going to help us. "He's pretty athletic. He's got a pretty good clock, like when he needs to speed up, especially at shortstop where it's probably more important to have that internal clock where, 'Do you need to more your feet and throw it now, or do you have time?' I think his arm stre fox sports ngth is really maybe coming back [from Tommy John surgery] quicker than anticipated." Worth noting #149; Clay Buchholz's next two side sessions are set for Tuesday and Thursday. The Red Sox wanted Buchholz to throw a simulated game on Monday, but the logistics of a doubleheader against the Orioles made it essentially impossible to set up, so he'll do that Tuesday instead. #149; Another home fox sports run for David Ortiz would give him 30 for the seventh time in his career, all with the Sox. Manny Ramirez and Ortiz are tied for second-most 30-homer seasons in Sox history with six. Hall of Famer Ted Williams holds the record with eight. #149; Jacoby Ellsbury entered Sunday as the only Major Leaguer with 50 runs, 50 RBIs and 35 extra-base hits since the start of July. fox sports
|