Boston @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 26, 2010 ) Boston 4, San Francisco 2
Just call it Boston’s Bay Area Bummer. The Red Sox will be happy to get out of San Francisco today after wrapping up a three-game interleague series against the Giants.
On Friday night, they lost heavy-hitting Dustin Pedroia with a broken left foot. In the second inning Saturday, starting pitcher Clay Buchholz suffered a hyperextended left knee running bases.
While Buchholz is expected to miss perhaps only one start, Pedroia could be out six weeks or longer and might need surgery.
Pedroia, the 2008 American League MVP, was placed on the 15-day disabled list and will miss the first significant time of his career.
He left Friday’s game after fouling off a ball that hit the instep of his left foot. He had trouble putting weight on it, and while X-rays did not reveal a break Friday night, further tests Saturday confirmed the injury.
Pedroia was hitting .491 in his last 14 games and had a 5-for-5 performance with three homers in a 13-11 victory over Colorado on Thursday night.
Bill Hall, hitting .226, will start for Pedroia for now.
The Red Sox acquired Oakland’s Eric Patterson for minor league pitcher Fabian Williamson on Saturday to provide depth while Pedroia is out.
Patterson was originally expected to join the team Sunday since it is just across the bay, but he will not begin with the Red Sox until Tuesday, when they start a home series with Tampa Bay. The Rays are percentage points ahead of Boston for the wild-card lead.
After getting the first hit of his career, Buchholz grabbed his left hamstring while running between first and second, a frightening sight for the Red Sox one night after Pedroia’s injury.
Buchholz (10-4) later said he thought he could still make his next scheduled start.
The Red Sox used eight pitchers Saturday in earning a 4-2 victory on a three-run homer by Mike Cameron and a solo shot by Darnell McDonald.
The finale of this series features two solid pitchers and Washington natives.
Boston’s Jon Lester, who was born in Tacoma, is 8-3 with a 3.03 ERA. He will face two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum (8-2, 2.86), who is from Bellevue and pitched for the University of Washington.
Lester has allowed two runs or fewer in six of his past seven starts.
Lincecum is second in the NL in strikeouts (113) with four starts of at least 10 strikeouts. He is 5-1 with a 1.53 ERA in his last six interleague starts.
The Giants will honor their pitchers who have thrown no-hitters, including Friday’s starter, Jonathan Sanchez.