Boston @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 19, 2011 ) Boston 5, Pittsburgh 7

THE STORY: After allowing back-to-back home runs to begin his last start, Jon Lester once again tries to become a 10-game winner as the Boston Red Sox begin a three-game interleague set at Pittsburgh on Friday. Boston lost the final two games of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres for its first two-game losing streak since June 1. Pittsburgh has won two straight to climb back to the .500 mark on the season.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, NESN, ROOT

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH Jon Lester (9-3, 3.70 ERA) vs. Pirates LH Paul Maholm (3-8, 3.29 ERA)

Despite Lester’s gaudy record he has been hit hard at times during the season. Lester continues to pile up the strikeouts as he sets his sights at notching his 10th win of the season for the second straight start. Lester allowed three solo homers in his last start, a 4-2 loss against the Brewers. He’s already surrendered 14 homers this season - the same total he gave up all last season. Lester has never faced the Pirates. He is sixth in the AL in strikeouts and tied for first in victories.

Maholm has pitched much better than his record indicates. In his eight losses this season Pittsburgh has scored a total of six runs. Maholm allowed four runs on seven hits in his last outing, a 5-1 loss to Cleveland. Prior to that, he blanked the Mets on three hits over seven innings in a 3-1 victory. Maholm has never faced Boston his seven-year major league career.

ABOUT THE PIRATES (37-37): Pittsburgh won the final two games of a three-game set against the Orioles. Closer Joel Hanrahan notched the save in the series finale making him a perfect 20-for-20 in save opportunities on the season. Hanrahan became just the third Pirates pitcher to record 20 saves before the All-Star break. He has allowed one run over his past 13 appearances and in 12 of those, he hasn’t allowed a hit. Pittsburgh lost four straight prior to the two-game winning streak. The Pirates haven’t faced the Red Sox since 2005. Andrew McCutcheon leads the light-hitting Bucs with 10 homers and a .286 average. Pittsburgh is 27th in the majors in slugging percentage, Boston is second.

ABOUT THE RED SOX (44-31): With a litany of injuries and illnesses Boston manager Terry Francona is not about to sit his top two hitters during a nine-game interleague road trip. Francona intends on using first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who leads the AL in batting average at .359, in the outfield for at least some of the interleague games ahead. That will give David Ortiz and his .313 average a spot at first base. Boston is without Jed Lowrie and Carl Crawford, and Marco Scutaro missed Wednesday’s game due to illness. Gonzalez racked up four more hits in Boston’s loss to the Padres on Wednesday. Boston has won 13 of its last 15 games on the road.

FINAL PITCH: The Pirates have the majors’ worst all-time interleague record but are 54-53 against the AL at home. Pittsburgh is 4-2 at PNC Park against AL teams this season, but 0-3 on the road.