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Saturday's press notes

Saturday's press notes, courtesy of the Red Sox' P.R. department:

DATE OPP. BOS TIME RED SOX STARTER OPPOSING STARTER TELEVISION
Sat., July 1 at FLA 6:05 p.m. RHP Tim Wakefield (5-8, 3.86) RHP Brian Moehler (5-6, 6.55) NESN
Sun., July 2 at FLA 1:05 p.m. LHP Jon Lester (3-0, 2.95) RHP Josh Johnson (7-4, 2.20) NESN
Mon., July 3 at TB 7:15 p.m. RHP Josh Beckett (10-3, 4.64) LHP Scott Kazmir (9-5, 3.59) NESN
Tues., July 4 at TB 4:15 p.m. RHP Curt Schilling (10-2, 3.54) LHP Casey Fossum (3-3, 5.03) NESN
Wed., July 5 at TB 7:15 p.m. RHP Jason Johnson (3-9, 6.22) RHP Tim Corcoran (2-0, 1.17) NESN
Thurs., July 6 at TB 7:15 p.m. RHP Tim Wakefield RHP James Shields (4-1, 4.37 +tonight) NESN
---All games broadcast on 103.7 WEEI-fM and the Red Sox radio network and the Red Sox Spanish-language radio network---

IN HIS WAKE: Tim Wakefield tonight becomes just the 2nd pitcher in club history to reach 300 starts with the Red Sox…Tim also takes aim at career win No. 150…here’s a look at where Wakefield ranks on the franchise’s all-time pitching charts:
Starts
1. Roger Clemens 382
2. Tim Wakefield 299
3. Cy Young 297
Appearances
1. Bob Stanley 637
2. Tim Wakefield 436
3. Derek Lowe 384
4. Roger Clemens 383
Innings Pitched
1. Roger Clemens 2776.0
2. Cy Young 2728.1
3. Tim Wakefield 2176.2
Strikeouts
1. Roger Clemens 2,590
2. Pedro Martinez 1,683
3. Tim Wakefield 1,551
4. Cy Young 1,341
Wins
1. Roger Clemens 192
Cy Young 192
3. Tim Wakefield 135

YOU CAN.T WIN THEM ALL: The Red Sox last night saw their 12-game winning streak come to an end with a 5-2 loss to Florida to begin this 3-game series…Boston’s 10- game road trip continues with 4 games in Tampa Bay next week and concludes with 3 games with the defending World Champion White Sox next weekend to take the clubs into the All-Star Break . . . The 12-game winning streak matched Boston’s 3rd-longest run in club history and was its longest in nearly 11 years, a 12-gamer from August 3-14, 1995…in Red Sox history, only 2 streaks have surpassed the tear the Red Sox just completed . . .Boston’s 12-gamer was the longest by any major league club since Houston won 12 in row August 27-September 8, 2004.

NEVERTHELESS.: Despite last night’s loss, the Red Sox have won 12 of their last 13 games and completed June with a 17-9 mark, matching their record in June in 2005…the Red Sox have not been better in June since 1990 (20-9, .690) . . . The Red Sox led the majors with a .299 batting average in June…the Red Sox also paced the majors with a .306 batting average in May.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: The Red Sox have held sole possession of first place in the A.L. East for the last 13 days…the Sox have been in sole possession of or in a statistical tie for first place in the division for 77 of 88 days in 2006 . . . Owners of the 3rd-best record in baseball at 48-29 (.623) behind only the Tigers (55- 25) and White Sox (52-27), the Red Sox boast their best record through 77 games in 20 years, when the 1986 club went 50-27 to start the season (with a win in game 78).

INTERLEAGUE INTRIGUE: The Red Sox are 14-2 vs. the National League this season and have the highest winning percentage (.875) in interleague play this season…the best single-season winning percentage in interleague history belongs to the 2004 St. Louis Cardinals (11-1, .917)…the 2002 Oakland A’s own the record for most wins after going 16-2 . . . Boston’s 14 wins are its most ever against the National League in a single season, shattering the previous mark of 12 set in 2005…the Red Sox have won 18 of their last 20 (.900) and are 23-3 in their last 26 interleague contests beginning June 12, 2005 . . . The Red Sox still have a chance to equal the 2002 Athletics for the most-ever wins by a club in a single interleague season.

JUNE ENDED, SO LET.S COMPARE: The Red Sox ended June with a 48-29 overall record and a 3.0 game lead in the A.L. East…the Red Sox are 3.0 games better in the win-loss column than a season ago at the end of June…here’s a comparison of the 2006 Red Sox to the club from a season ago through the end of June:
THROUGH JUNE, 2006 THROUGH JUNE, 2005
48-29 (.623) RECORD 45-32 (.584)
1st, 3.0 GA A.L. EAST STANDING 1st, 2.5 GA
.288 BATTING AVERAGE .285
430 RUNS 434
94 HOME RUNS 92
23-for-33 (.697) STOLEN BASES 18-for-19 (.947)
4.58 TEAM ERA 4.72
35-24, 4.79 STARTERS’ RECORD, ERA 33-20, 4.46
13-5, 26-33 SV, 4.15 BULLPEN RECORD, ERA 12-12, 15-23 SV, 5.19 ERA
.262 AVERAGE AGAINST .273
.992 FIELDING PERCENTAGE .983

MANNY NEARS 2,000: Manny Ramirez last night collected 3 hits to inch within one of career hit No. 2,000…he tonight aims to become the 240th player in major league history to reach 2,000 hits…16 active players have hit the mark, most recently reached by Derek Jeter…Garret Anderson is sitting on 1,998 career hits . . . Manny also drove in both Boston runs last night and now boasts 124 RBI in his career in interleague play, trailing only Carlos Delgado (131) for most all-time.

IN 2006: The Red Sox and Marlins meet this weekend for the first time csince 2003, when the Sox won 2 of 3 games at Fenway Park...this 3-game weekend set is Boston’s first in Miami since 2000 (Boston won 2 of 3 games).

ALL-TIME: Boston holds an 11-8 edge in the all-time regular season series…the Red Sox are 7-5 at home and 4-3 in Florida…in 6 total series, Boston has won 2 of 3 games each of the last 5, dropping a series just once in their first meeting in 1997 (1-2).

YOU LOOK FAMILIAR.: The Red Sox have 6 players on their 25-man roster or disabled list that have spent time in South Florida…Josh Beckett (2001-05), Mike Lowell (1999-2005) and Alex Gonzalez (1998-2005) won World Series rings with the Marlins in 2003…Matt Clement spent a season here in 2001, Julian Tavarez played for Florida in 2002 and Rudy Seanez spent part of 2004 with the Marlins . . . Additionally, Alex Cora batted .294 during 3 seasons with the University of Miami, earning a spot on the College World Series All-Tournament Team in 1995 and 1996…he went 3-for-5 with 3 RBI in the 9-8 World Series title game loss to LSU in 1996.

DEFENSE RECORD: The Sox last night set the major league record by playing their 17th errorless game in a row . . . Boston surpassed the previous major league record set by the St. Louis Cardinals July 30-August 16, 1992…on Thursday, the Sox broke the A.L. mark of 15 previously held by the Rangers from August 4-19, 1996…Boston’s last error occurred June 11 vs. Texas (Kevin Youkilis in the first game of a doubleheader)…the Sox have handled 668 errorless chances since . . . Boston’s 23 errors through June 30 are the fewest by a major league team since research is first available in 1960.

PREVIOUSLY ON 24: Jonathan Papelbon Thursday matched the Red Sox single-season rookie saves record with his 24th save…Dick Radatz earned 24 saves as a rookie in 1962.

STREAKING ALONG: Mark Loretta’s 13-game hitting streak is tied with Adrian Beltre and Freddy Sanchez for the longest active run in the majors…Alex Gonzalez enters tonight with a 10-game streak.

Posted by Art  at 5:45 PM | Permalink