The Red Sox (66-56) return to Fenway Park on Friday night to begin a five-game home stand against the Miami Marlins (58-63) and Baltimore Orioles (55-66) following a 2-4 road trip to San Diego and Houston.
After a difficult run for the starting rotation, Boston will try to start over. Lucas Giolito is coming off a hard loss to the Padres, when he allowed four earned runs on five hits, walked six, and only struck out one in 4.2 innings. He starts his 19th start with a 3.77 ERA over 100.1 innings. The veteran right-hander let up four or more earned runs for the sixth time this season, although three of those appearances are part of his five starts since the All-Star break.
But in the second half, all three of these damaging beginnings have taken place away from home. Since May 24, Giolito has made six starts at Fenway, four of which were without an earned run. He has been particularly good at home. His most recent home start came on Aug. 3, when he pitched eight innings and held the Astros to a single home run and only two hits.
After falling a little in the standings, the Red Sox will need to get back on track with their starting rotation. They are just 1.5 games ahead of the New York Yankees going into Friday, and five games behind the Toronto Blue Jays, who are in first place in the American League East. The Red Sox dropped from the top spot to the second of the three available spots in the AL Wild Card competition.
The three-day Players Weekend, which is returning for the second consecutive season after a four-year break, also starts on Friday. Fans may anticipate seeing Red Sox and Marlins players wearing distinctive bats, cleats, and other special gear in honor of the day’s theme, Off-Field Interests, Causes, and Appreciation, even though the moniker outfits won’t be returning.
In San Diego (19) and Baltimore (24) during the past two Players Weekends, the Red Sox have each lost 2-1.
DH Roman Anthony
3B Alex Bregman
Jarren Duran LF
The Trevor Story SS
RF Wilyer Abreu
Romy Gonzalez, 2B
Abraham Toro, 1B
Rafaela Ceddanne CF
Carlos Narvez C.
Return later.
RHP Lucas Giolito versus RHP Sandy Alcantara
When: 7:10 p.m. ET
Where: Boston’s Fenway Park
Watch: Marlins FanDuel Sports Network Florida, WBFS-TV, Red Sox NESN
Listen: Marlins FOX Sports 940 AM (WINZ), WAQI 710; Red Sox WEEI 93.7 FM, WCCM 1490 AM (Spanish), WESX 1230 AM (Spanish).
