The Boston Red Sox, coming off a sensational 12-2 win in Friday's series opener, will try to book a commanding 2-0 series lead against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday at Fenway Park.
Boston opened their postseason campaign on a strong note as Jarrod Saltalamacchia and the rest of the Red Sox' big bats produced run after run to draw first blood in the best-of-five American League Division Series.
On Saturday, the Red Sox batting corps will be facing a much stiffer challenge when they face one of the game's most clutch hurlers - David Price.
Trying to avoid a 0-2 hole before they head home on Monday, the Rays decided to field their ace hurler for the crucial match. Price, who's coming off two-run complete game in Monday's tie-breaking win over the Texas Rangers, is expected to give the Red Sox all kinds of trouble at the plate while Rays sluggers Evan Longoria and Desmond Jennings will try to come up with a better outing in Game 2.
Rays manager Joe Maddon admitted that fielding errors killed them in the series opener, but he nevertheless expects his boys to deliver the goods in today's match.
"We've been playing very well. We've not been making any mistakes. We made a bunch tonight," Maddon told ESPN. "But I've also learned one other thing regarding baseball: 24 hours can make a huge difference. That's just one game, baby. That's just one. We'll be back tomorrow. I promise you."
Saturday's game could be the final start for Price in a Rays uniform as the hurler is expected to hit free agency in 2015. Several league insiders are expecting the Rays to shop Price this offseason in an attempt to get solid compensation before his contract expires.
"Whatever happens, I want to completely absorb myself and my team and my teammates like we have all year," Price told the team's official website via ESPN. "And that's a big part of why we're here right now."
Meanwhile, the Red Sox will be fielding John Lackey, who pitched miserably in his final four starts in the regular season. Lackey, who went 10-13 with a 3.52 ERA this season, allowed at least five earned runs over his final four starts.
Still, the Red Sox are hopeful that his 11-day rest will be enough for Lackey to regroup and inflict damage on the Rays' batting unit.
Live Stream & Schedule
TV Schedule
You can catch Game 2 of ALDS between the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday at 5:37 p/m EST on TBS.
Live Stream (video)
Live stream coverage can be seen on MLB.tv.
Live Stream (audio)
Live stream coverage can be heard MLB.com Gameday Audio.
Live Score
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