Royals @ Red Sox Preview

The Sox bullpen blew it last night, but the Sox also need their starters to go deeper into game. Tonight we will see if Lester can answer the call. Lester has had success against the Royals. Last time he faced them was when he had his epic no-hitter. I expect another great game out of Lester since he is now over his early struggles and is 4-1 with a 1.74 ERA in his last seven starts, striking out 61 in 46 2-3 innings, which is amazing.

Facing Lester tonight will be Brian Bannister who has had a solid year for the Royals going 6-6 with a 3.87 ERA. He has not had success against the Sox though with an 0-3 record and a silly 8.22 ERA.

Boston really needs two things. They need players like Pedroia, Bay, and Youk to start playing a lot better (though Pedroia as been better of late). They also need their bullpen to get into some kind of groove again. They may be overused, so it is really important that Lester goes at least 7 innings tonight.

Game starts at 7:10 on NESN.

Here is what tonight's lineup looks like....

Drew, rf
Pedroia, 2b
Youkilis, 3b
Ortiz, dh
Bay, lf
Ellsbury, cf
Varitek, c
Kotsay, 1b
Green, ss