Boston hopes Lester can remain perfect against O's

Baseball Betting Lines

09/01/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Red Sox may not have had the success they've enjoyed in the past against the Baltimore Orioles this season, but Jon Lester has certainly been able to maintain his dominance over the course of this series.

The Boston ace will put his still-unbeaten record versus the Orioles on the line and try to give the Red Sox a much-needed victory in tonight's clash between the longtime American League East foes from Camden Yards.

Lester enters this evening's matchup sporting an astounding 12-0 ledger along with a 2.00 earned run average over 15 career meetings with Baltimore, and the Red Sox have come out on top in all but one of those games. The All-Star hurler has been especially masterful in this year's matchups, as he's yielded only a single run over 19 innings in three 2010 starts against the Orioles, winning twice and registering one no-decision.

The standout lefty has also been tough on most other opponents as of late, save for a horrendous start against Toronto on August 20 in which he was rocked for nine runs and eight hits in just two innings. Lester bounced back strongly in a big game at playoff contender Tampa Bay this past Friday, however, limiting the Rays to an unearned run and a mere two hits while racking up 10 strikeouts to lead Boston to a 3-1 decision.

Lester has yet to allow an earned run in any of his past three road outings -- all victories -- and improved to 8-3 with an excellent 2.27 ERA in 15 starts away from home this year with Friday's verdict.

Boston could use another top-notch performance out of its top starter after losing Tuesday's opener of this three-game series with the Orioles. The 5-2 setback dropped the Sox to eight games behind the rival New York Yankees for first place in the AL East, though they remained seven in back of the front- running Rays in the Wild Card race after Tampa fell to Toronto last night.

Luke Scott and Felix Pie each hit home runs and Baltimore received solid pitching once again to notch its fourth win in a row. The Orioles were coming off a three-game road sweep of the Angels in which the team surrendered only a single run during the entire series.

Rookie Brian Matusz (7-12) held Boston to two runs and struck out six over the first six innings to extend his personal win streak to three games, with relievers Jim Johnson, Mike Gonzalez and Koji Uehara combining for three scoreless frames to close out the contest. Uehara set down all five batters he faced to earn his fifth save of the year.

"I thought [Matusz] was good," said Boston's Jed Lowrie. "He mixed his pitches well. He executed pitches when he had to."

Scott gave Baltimore an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the bottom of the second and homered off reliever Felix Doubront in the eighth for a 4-2 advantage. Pie went deep two batters later to lengthen the margin to three runs.

"Obviously it was a big eighth inning for us," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. "It felt like the ballgame was kind of riding in that area."

Lowrie finished 2-for-3 and accounted for the Red Sox' only scoring with a two-run homer against Matusz in the fifth. Starter Josh Beckett (4-4) worked seven innings for Boston, but was saddled with the loss after permitting three runs (two earned) on seven hits.

The Orioles now hold a 7-6 edge on the Red Sox in this year's season series following Tuesday's triumph, with Boston having lost five of the seven bouts that have taken place in Camden Yards. Baltimore is still just 10-29 over the last 39 games played between the teams, however.

Jake Arrieta will get his first taste of this rivalry when the rookie takes the mound for Baltimore tonight. The promising right-hander will be out to halt a string of three consecutive losing starts after winning four of seven decisions to begin his big-league tenure.

Arrieta struggled in a road defeat to the Chicago White Sox last Thursday, issuing three walks while being reached for four runs on seven hits before exiting after four innings. He was a bit better in his previous assignment, tossing 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball against Texas on August 20 despite coming out on the short end of a 2-0 decision.

The 24-year-old hopes to improve upon a 1-3 record and 5.40 ERA in seven home starts since being promoted from Triple-A Norfolk in mid-June.