The Boston Red Sox's offense has not exactly been what the team was hoping for. The franchise made big trade moves for players like Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval to get them production at the plate and instead both are hitting well below their career averages. That has Boston struggling heading into the mid-point of the season. The team is hoping to get on track as they face the Minnesota Twins who continue to dominate.
Boston had lost six of their last seven games when they finally broke out of a slump on Tuesday for the 1-0 win. Much of that has to do with the production at the plate. Ramirez is currently batting .255 while Sandoval is hitting .249 and the Red Sox now rank near the bottom of the league with a .241 combined batting average. That lineup will face Phil Hughes in the first game of a double header. Dustin Pedroia has the most success off him, batting .342 with five home runs.
The Red Sox will put Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound in the afternoon as Boston operates under a six-man rotation. In his last start, he gave up three hits in seven innings which was his first major league outing. The 22-year-old certainly has his work cut out for him against the Twins. Rick Porcello will get the evening start. He recently allowed seven runs in four innings against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Twins will counter with Hughes who is not having the best season after going 16-10 with a 3.52 ERA in 2014. The pitcher currently has a 4.64 ERA in his last five starts. He recently gave up four runs to the Red Sox, including a pair to Pedroia. He has given up 12 home runs in his last 64 innings. Trevor May gets the nod for the night game as he is 3-3 with a 5.07 ERA on the year. He is currently 101 with a 6.08 ERA in his last four trips to the mound. Both teams need their pitching performances to level out during this final game of the series.
