Both Jackson and Shields pitched well the last time they faced the Red Sox. Luckily for the Sox bats, they weren't hitting well at the Trop. So, if their lineup doesn't get their act together and figure out how to move guys across the plate, at least they can't perform more miserably than they did down in Florida. Red Sox pitching, however, was generally very good for the last series and they still got tapped for ten runs. If they're to have any hope (especially if the lineup continues along this anemic path), then the pitching will have to be damn near perfect.
That being said, Sunday sees Scott Kazmir's return to the rotation after recovering from an elbow strain. He throws a high nineties fastball and a great slider. He's also been working on a change-up. He has work to do on his command but he strikes out a lot of batters (239 last year or 7-ish per game.) In his last rehab start, he went five innings and threw eighty-one pitches. He allowed three hits, one run, walked a batter and struck out three. The good thing is that they'll likely be very, very cautious with him-probably keeping him around eighty pitches.
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