WHO: Red Sox (60-56) vs. Los Angeles Angels (56-59)
WHEN: 7:10 p.m.
WHERE: Fenway Park
STARTING PITCHERS: LHP Chris Sale (5-11, 4.68) vs. LHP Dillon Peters (2-0, 3.20)
TV/RADIO: NESN/WEEI 93.7 FM
IN-GAME OBSERVATIONS
9:11 Presumably, that's it for Sale, at 99 pitches through eight. He struck out 13, walked no one and allowed just two hits. Unquestionably his best outing since he fanned 17 against Colorado in May.
8:34 Sale is in a groove, needing just 29 pitches over the last three innings. Since allowing a two-out roller for a double in the first inning, he's retired 16 straight.
8:28 Sandy Leon tomahawks a pitch above the strike zone and drives it into the Monster Seats, giving the Sox a 3-0 lead.
8:08 Outstanding catch by Kole Calhoun in right, fully extending himself to take extra bases away from Xander Bogaerts on a liner that was sinking away from him.
8:01 Sale pumps 96 mph past Mike Trout for a swinging strike three.
7:49 This is the best Chris Sale has looked in a number of starts - working with a quick tempo, throwing strikes and being efficient. One baserunner through three IP.
7:35 Sam Travis get a four-seamer center-cut and wallops it into the CF bleachers. What a shot, and on the first pitch.
LINEUPS
RED SOX
Betts RF
Devers 3B
Bogaerts SS
Martinez DH
Travis 1B
Benintendi LF
Chavis 2B
Leon C
Bradley CF
ANGELS
Fletcher 3B
Trout CF
Ohtani DH
Upton LF
Pujols 1B
Clahoun RF
Rengifo 2B
Tovar SS
Stassi C
WHAT'S UP: The Sox, after Wednesday's suspended game, are 16-16 in their last 32...This is first meeting of the year between the Sox and Angels..Last year the Sox were 6-0 against the Angels and outscored them 49-12...The Sox hit 20 homers in those six games, which, at the time, was the most for one team against in another in a season series of six or more games....In the first eight games of August, the Sox have amassed four outfield assists...The Sox lead the majors with 29 outfield assists and nine outfield double plays...Jackie Bradley Jr. leads all center fielders with nine assists and is tied for lead for OF double plays with three...Since the start of 2017, Bradley's 37 assists leads all AL outfielders, with Mookie Betts next at 34...Since the start of July, Betts is batting .333 with a .978 OPS....Xander Bogaerts is hitting .376 at home, the highest such mark in the league...He's hit safely in his last 19 games and is batting .470 in that stretch with an OBP of .506 and an .892 slugging percentage...He's knocked in 24 runs and scored 20 runs while belting nine homers and eight doubles...J.D. Martinez has reached base in 16 straight with six homers and 16 RBI in that span...Martinez is hitting .397 in that time....Michael Chavis leads all A.L. rookies in RBI (57), hits (88) and tied for the lead in homers (18) and runs scored (46)….Brandon Workman leads the majors in opponents batting average at .120 and opponent slugging percentage .174 and opponent OPS .436...He's allowed jut one homer in 132 batters this season for a homer rate/per nine innings of 0.18...Rafael Devers is 0-f0r-6 and is batting just .152 (5-for-33) this month....Bradley is hitless in his last 11 appearances....Andrew Benintendi has hit in four straight (5-for-16) and has five RBI....Over his last 17 games, Benintendi is batting .397 with 18 RBI.....Chris Sale heads into his start with the best strikeout/9 IP at 13.09 and is third overall with 193 strikeouts...He's seven strikeouts away from his seventh straight 200 seasons...The only other pitcher who's fanned 200 or more in every season since 2013 in Max Scherzer...With seven strikeouts Thursday night, Sale would join Roger Clemens (eight) and Pedro Martinez (six) as the only Red Sox starters to strike out 200 or more in at least three seasons...Albert Pujols is 2-for-21 (0.95) with six strikeouts...Mike Trout is 5-for-17 with a homer in his career against Price...Martinez is the only Red Sox hitter with a previous at-bat (one) against Dillon Peters.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
- David Price was placed on the 10-day IL with a left wrist injury. Price underwent an MRI that revealed a TFCC cyst on his left wrist and was treated with a cortisone shot. The move was retroactive to Aug. 5, which would indicate that the Sox don't believe this will be a long-term injury. To make room for Price's spot on the roster, the Red Sox recalled RHP Hector Velazquez. Velazquez had a 5.67 ERA earlier in the season for the Sox, and has since compiled a 4.05 ERA in Pawtucket. Price was scheduled to pitch Friday, and Brian Johnson will take his spot, with Velazquez slated for bullpen duty. Alex Cora said the wrist has prevented Price from commanding his changeup and cutter, which helps explain his run of five straight poor starts. Price complained about some "tightness'' after Sunday's start in New York. "The fact that he wasn't controlling his pitches, to me, was a red flag,'' said Cora. "It actually put some restrictions on how he executed his pitches. We'll see how it goes. The hope is for him to come back sooner rather than later, but we don't have a timetable. We'll make sure he's OK and go from there.''