Good thinking
Boston (45-32) at Philadelphia (49-30), 7:05 p.m. EDT
The Philadelphia Phillies might be playing well enough to end their recent home struggles against the Boston Red Sox.
After Cliff Lee was dominant in the opener, rookie Vance Worley looks to help the Phillies secure their first winning home series against the Red Sox since 2003 on Wednesday night.
Since 2005, Boston has won five consecutive series in Philadelphia, including each of the last three seasons. However, the Red Sox (45-33) fell for just the fifth time in 16 games there after Lee held them to two hits in a 5-0 loss Tuesday.
The Phillies (50-30) have not won a home series from Boston since 2003.
“That’s an unbelievable offense over there,” Lee told the Red Sox official website. “They have a good team. That’s why they’ve been playing well. I was anticipating it being a closer game.”
Shane Victorino and Domonic Brown each hit two-run homers, and Lee posted his third consecutive shutout as Philadelphia struck first in what is being hailed as a potential World Series preview.
However, only one of these teams is currently playing like a championship contender.
Philadelphia has won 16 of 22 while Boston has dropped five of six. The last time the Phillies reached 50 wins in fewer than 81 games was during their NL pennant-winning season in 1993.
Victorino is batting .348 with three homers and 11 RBIs his last 17 games.
Worley (2-1, 2.83 ERA), who gave up eight runs – five earned – in three innings of a 9-5 loss to the Mets on May 29, has allowed one run in 11 innings while not factoring in the decision of his last two starts. The right-hander gave up one hit in six innings of a 1-0 win over Oakland on Friday.
The Red Sox counter with John Lackey (5-6, 7.36), who looks to bounce back after having his three-game winning streak snapped. The right-hander allowed five runs and four walks in a season-low 3 1-3 innings of a 5-1, rain-shortened loss to San Diego last Wednesday.
Lackey has been better against Philadelphia, going 2-1 with a 3.44 ERA. However, that defeat came at Citizens Bank Park when he allowed four runs in five innings of Boston’s 5-1 loss May 21, 2010.
Philadelphia’s Raul Ibanez is 1 for 22 his last seven games, but is a lifetime .352 hitter with four doubles versus Lackey.
Darnell McDonald and Marco Scutaro each had a hit Tuesday for the Red Sox, who have averaged 2.3 runs the last six games after they scored 8.0 per contest while winning 14 of their previous 16.
“We’ll be all right,” second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. “We’ll come out (Wednesday) and try to play better.”
Pedroia had his 11-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-3 effort Tuesday, but is batting .368 with two homers and 16 RBIs his last 20 games. However, he’s a lifetime .190 hitter in nine games at Citizens Bank Park.
Slugger David Ortiz has not started any of the four games on Boston’s four-game interleague road trip because the designated hitter is not used, but he could be in the lineup at first base Wednesday.
“That’s what I hear. I’m pretty excited about it,” said Ortiz, batting .311 with 17 homers and 48 RBIs.
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