Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox 5/16/14: Game Time, TV/Radio Coverage, Lineup

Oct 19, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox right fielder

Shane Victorino

(18) reacts after hitting a grand slam against the Detroit Tigers during the seventh inning in game six of the American League Championship Series playoff baseball game at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Tigers will look to continue rolling on the road (11-4) and enact a level of revenge when they take on the Boston Red Sox for a weekend series beginning Friday night in Fenway Park. No Tigers’ fan needs to be reminded that the Red Sox ended their favorite team’s October aspirations in a six-game ALCS this past October. A great pitching matchup (Max Scherzer vs Jon Lester) kicks off the series, which will feature all night games, including a rare Tigers’ appearance on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball.

The Red Sox are suffering from a World Series hangover, at .500 after 40 games. That would usually spell doom in the always competitive AL East, but as it stands now, parody reigns supreme in the most covered division in baseball. Boston is in third place, one game behind New York for second and 1.5 games behind first-place Baltimore.

Detroit Tigers (24-12) at Boston Red Sox (20-20) — 7:10 PM EDT

Fenway Park — Boston, MA

TV: FSD, MLB Network

Radio: 97.1 The Ticket (click for radio affiliates)

Weather: 67 degrees, chance of showers/T-storms

When We Last Met

The Tigers bullpen and offense let them down in last year’s ALCS. Despite winning a thrilling Game 1, 1-0, and taking a 5-0 lead in Game 2 (both on the road), the Tigers couldn’t stop a late Red Sox charge and ended up losing Game 2. The image of Torii Hunter falling over the right field wall, just missing a fantastic catch that turned into a grand slam will likely haunt us for decades.

That was really the turning point of the series and seemed to demoralize Detroit, who lost three of the next four to lose the series in six. The Red Sox went on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in six games as well, giving them their third World Championship in nine years.

The Tigers edged the Red Sox 4-3 in the regular season series, but lost two of three in Fenway Park from Sept. 2-4.

Pitching Matchup

Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Scherzer (5-1, 2.04) struggled with his control a bit in his last outing. As usual in a Max Scherzer start, the Tigers got him plenty of run support, scoring six runs in the second inning last Saturday against Minnesota. Max coughed up half that lead in the ensuing inning, but limited the damage after that. It wasn’t vintage Max, but most pitchers in baseball would take it. He ended up going six innings, allowing five hits, four walks, and struck out six. Max was 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA against the Red Sox in the 2013 regular season, and allowed four runs over two starts in the ALCS. He was the losing pitcher in the deciding game.

Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Lester (4-4, 2.75) was outdueled by Anibal Sanchez in ALCS Game 1, but he was brilliant in 6 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and one run. He wasn’t as good five days later at Comerica Park, but the Red Sox had built a 4-0 lead. The Tigers chipped away but Lester picked up the win, 4-3. He was perfect in two starts against the Tigers in the regular season, but had a bloated ERA of 4.26. The Tigers couldn’t hit lefties last year, but lead the American League with a collective batting average near .300 against south paws, so Lester may not be as dominant this time around.

Tigers Lineup

Injuries

Tigers

Anibal Sanchez – Probable for Sunday
Luke Putkonen – 15-day DL
Joel Hanrahan – 15-day DL
Andy Dirks – 60-day DL
Jose Iglesias – 60-day DL
Bruce Rondon – Out for the season

Red Sox

Shane Victorino – Questionable
Steven Wright – Out indefinitely
Ryan Dempster – Out for the season

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