Miami @ Boston preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 7, 2015 ) Miami 3, Boston 4

The Boston Red Sox don’t believe they are out of the race in the American League East, and Xander Bogaerts is a big reason for the positive feelings. Bogaerts will try to lead the Red Sox to a fourth straight win and a two-game sweep of the visiting Miami Marlins on Wednesday.

Bogaerts is one of five players on the Final Vote ballot for the American League All-Star team and added another line to his resume by delivering a three-run, go-ahead single in Boston’s 4-3 win on Tuesday. The 22-year-old is batting .351 since moving into the No. 3 spot in the lineup and is 11-for-22 with seven RBIs in the last five contests. The three runs represented a step in the right direction for the Marlins, who managed two or fewer in their three previous games and have dropped three straight. Miami has a great chance to end that run of poor offense against struggling Red Sox starter Rick Porcello, who will go up against Tom Koehler.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Florida (Miami), NESN (Boston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins RH Tom Koehler (7-4, 3.52 ERA) vs. Red Sox RH Rick Porcello (4-9, 6.08)

Koehler has not needed much run support of late and is riding a three-start winning streak. The 29-year-old allowed a total of four runs and 14 hits in 20 innings over those three starts – leading Miami to one-run wins in each contest. Koehler is making his first start against Boston but is 2-1 in three starts against AL East teams this season, with wins over Baltimore and the New York Yankees.

Porcello is 0-7 in his last eight starts and has allowed at least five earned runs in five of those outings. The worst of the bunch came in his last turn at Toronto on July 1, when he was lit up for seven runs on seven hits – three homers – in only two innings. Porcello is marginally better at home in 2015 with a 3-4 record and a 4.93 ERA in seven starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Red Sox 1B Travis Shaw got the start over Mike Napoli on Tuesday and went 3-for-4, matching Napoli’s hit total from the previous 10 games.

2. Marlins 1B Jeff Baker (oblique) left Tuesday’s game and is day-to-day.

3. Miami OF Christian Yelich went 3-for-4 on Tuesday to run his hitting streak to nine straight games.

PREDICTION: Marlins 7, Red Sox 4