John Maine, RH Lenny DiNardo, LH
(1-1, 2.70) (0-0, 10.80)
Game time is 7:05 on WNUV and NESN.
Remember when we all thought this series would be more than "Orioles hope to make life miserable for Red Sox"? Ha! Shows us. The Red Sox have a 3.5 game lead over the Yankees in the AL East race and have won five in a row, so they're playing good ball again. The O's have won two in a row and the last two days haven't been soul-draining at least.
Like last night, this is hardly a marquee pitching matchup. Maine struggled with his control against the A's on August 28. Pitchers that struggle with control are going to have a tough time with Boston, so let's hope he's on tonight.
DiNardo has made three relief appearances this season, pitching 1.2 innings overall. His last time out (August 20 against LAA) he gave up two earned in a third of an inning. Basically, this is how much Boston respects us. Lenny DiNardo, 26, is making his first major league start.
This has been something I've wondered about recently: Is tonight's game any different to you because it's against a "rival team"? Are you going to watch this one, if you've skipped other recent games? Or are they all the same to you now? Personally I'll at least try to watch this one, whereas the A's and Jays games I could only handle on mute and not paying much attention.