DATE OPP. BOS TIME RED SOX STARTER OPPOSING STARTER TELEVISION
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 (6-8, 3.90) RHP James Shields (4-1, 4.39) NESN
---All games broadcast on 103.7 WEEI-FM and the Red Sox radio network and the Red Sox Spanish-language radio network---
HE'S A GOLIATH: 3 years ago today, David Ortiz connected for one home run at Tropicana Field, a blast that ignited a 3-game, 5-homer stretch that included back-to-back 2-homer games at Yankee Stadium July 4 and 5…beginning July 3, 2003, Ortiz leads all major leaguers with 141 home runs and 426 RBI, which are 49 more RBI than his next closest competitor (Manny Ramirez) in that 3-year span and 61 more than the next closest player not in a Red Sox uniform:
M.L. HOME RUNS, SINCE JULY 3, 2003
1. David Ortiz, BOS 141
2. Albert Pujols, STL 134
3. Manny Ramirez, BOS 130
4. Alex Rodriguez, NYY 129
5. Adam Dunn, CIN 116
M.L. RBI, SINCE JULY 3, 2003
1. David Ortiz, BOS 426
2. Manny Ramirez, BOS 377
3. Alex Rodriguez, NYY 365
4. Albert Pujols, STL 364
5. Miguel Tejada, BAL 356
A STOP AT THE TROP: After taking 2 of 3 games in Florida this weekend to wrap up a 16-2 run through interleague play, the Red Sox tonight continue their 10-game trip with the first of 4 against the Devil Rays…Boston concludes its journey with 3 games this weekend against the World Champion White Sox, taking the club to the All-Star Break . . . Winners in 14 of its last 15 games, Boston yesterday reached 50 wins in 79 games (or fewer) for just the 9th time in the club’s 106 seasons, the first time since 1986 (51-28 through 79 games with a win in game 80)…the Red Sox also reached 50 wins this quick in 1979, 1978, 1946, 1915, 1912, 1904 and 1903 . . . The Red Sox are a season-high 21 games above .500 for the first time in 2006.
ROAD WARRIORS: By the All-Star Break, the Red Sox will have played 49 games on the road and just 37 at home, leaving 44 games at Fenway and only 32 games on the road for the Red Sox after the break . . . This is Boston’s 3rd trip of at least 10 days already this season…after the All-Star Break, the Red Sox have only 5 road trips, 4 of which are less than one week in length.
DIVISIONAL MATTERS: Boston tonight reunites with an A.L. East foe for the first time since June 8 at New York, snapping a run of 22 games in a row outside of the division…the Red Sox went 16-6 in those 22 games…overall, the Sox are 26-13 (.667) against non-A.L. East teams this season and are 24-16 (.600) against their division . . . These 4 games provide just a quick taste of life within the A.L. East, as Boston’s next 24 games after this series are against clubs outside of its division…therefore, the Red Sox are in the middle of a stretch in which 46 of 50 games are against non-A.L. East teams after starting the year by playing 40 of their first 57 games against the A.L. East.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: The Red Sox have held sole possession of first place in the A.L. East for the last 15 days…the Sox have been in sole possession of or in a statistical tie for first place in the division for 79 of 90 days in 2006 . . . The Red Sox have a 4.0-game lead in the A.L. East for the 2nd day in a row, matching their largest margin of the season…the Red Sox were last more than 4.0 games up on August 17 (4.5) and August 13 (5.0) in 2005.
WRAPPING UP INTERLEAGUE PLAY: The Red Sox went 16-2 (.889) vs. the National League this season and, along with the 2006 Minnesota Twins, equaled the 2002 Oakland Athletics (16-2) for the most wins by a club in a single interleague year . . . Boston’s 16 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 20 of their last 22 (.909) and are 25-3 in their last 28 interleague contests beginning June 12, 2005 . . . David Ortiz led the majors with 9 home runs in interleague play in 2006, just the 15th player to hit at least 9 homers in a single interleague campaign.
PITCHING IN: Curt Schilling and tonight’s starter Josh Beckett have each reached 10 wins this season, one of 2 pairs of teammates to reach 10 victories in the majors this season (Detroit’s Kenny Rogers and Justin Verlander also have reached double digits in victories)…Schilling and Beckett are just the 3rd pair of Red Sox teammates in the last 60 years each with 10 or more wins by the end of July…they join Roger Clemens and Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd in 1986 and Clemens and Mike Boddicker in 1990 (research: Elias Sports Bureau).
LEADING THE WAY: Kevin Youkilis yesterday connected for his 4th home run to lead off the game this season and of his career…he is just the 6th Red Sox in club history to hit at least 4 leadoff homers in the same season, joining Nomar Garciaparra (7 in 1997), Dwight Evans (5 in 1985), Mike Andrews (4 in 1970), Tommy Harper (4 in both 1972 and 1973), Bernie Carbo (4 in 1975) and Ellis Burks (4 in 1987) . . . Florida’s Hanley Ramirez yesterday also led off the game with a homer…the Red Sox were last involved in a game in which both teams hit a leadoff homer on July 15, 1999, when Jose Offerman led off the game for the Red Sox and Doug Glanville led off for the Phillies at Fenway Park (thanks to David Vincent for his research assistance).
STILL STREAKING: Alex Gonzalez enters the day with an 11-game hitting streak, tied for the 2nd-longest active run in the majors (Nomar Garciaparra has a 14-game run).
2006 SEASON: The Red Sox and Devil Rays meet 19 times in 2006, 9 times at Fenway Park and 10 times at Tropicana Field…the clubs have played 10 times thus far, with the Sox holding a 7-3 edge.
ALL-TIME: Boston leads the all-time series 95-47…the Sox are 53-20 at Fenway Park and 43-27 at the Trop . . . The Sox are 6-1-1 in 8 season series since the Rays joined the American League in 1998, losing only in 1999…the clubs split 12 in 2000 . . . Boston has won the last 5 season series (2001-2005), winning at least 12 games vs. Tampa Bay each year from 2001-2005…the Rays are the only team against whom the Sox have won each of the last 5 season series (2001- 2005)…since 2001, the Sox are 76-29 against the Rays.
DEFENSE RECORD: Despite a pair of errors in each of their last 2 games, the Red Sox recently set a new major league record by playing 17 games in a row without an error from June 11-30 . . . Boston surpassed the previous major league record set by the St. Louis Cardinals July 30-August 16, 1992…on Thursday, the Red Sox broke the American League mark of 15 previously held by the Rangers from August 4-19, 1996…Boston’s last error had occurred June 11 vs. Texas (Kevin Youkilis in the first game of a doubleheader)…the Red Sox cleanly handled 668 chances between errors.
PREVIOUSLY ON 24: Jonathan Papelbon yesterday set the Red Sox single-season rookie saves record with his 25th save, breaking Dick Radatz’s mark of 24 saves as a rookie in 1962 . . . Not yet the All-Star Break, Papelbon’s 25 saves already tie for the 10th most by a rookie in major league history, only 12 shy of the record set by Seattle’s Kaz Sasaki in 2000 . . . Papelbon’s 0.43 ERA (2 ER/41.2 IP0 continues to pace all big league relievers, just ahead of Toronto’s B.J. Ryan and his 0.45 ERA this season.
