Red Sox Head to Friendly Confines of Camden Yards With Three-Game Winning Streak

Winners of seven of their last nine games, the Red Sox enter their home away from home to take on the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Friday.

It is the first of three straight at a park the Sox have owned for more than a decade.

To make matters worse for the dreadful Orioles, Boston enters on the heels of its first series sweep of the season. The Sox won three straight over Toronto, getting back-to-back stellar starts from Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester to close out the sweep.

John Lackey, who beat the Orioles his last time out, will be looking to keep alive the quality stretch of pitching. He has had great success against Baltimore in his career.

With a win Boston would move above .500 for the first time it was 1-0.

WHEN AND WHERE

HEAD TO HEAD

PITCHING MATCHUP

Lackey got back on track in his last start after being roughed up on Patriots’ Day against the Tampa Bay Rays. Facing Baltimore, he allowed three runs on 10 hits in seven innings.

The big right-hander also walked a pair and was forced to work from the stretch quite a bit against the O’s. Still, he improved to 9-3 with a 3.21 ERA vs. Baltimore in his career.

Hernandez had received a grand total of three runs of support before he matched up opposite Tim Wakefield in Fenway Park on Sunday. He gave up three runs in five innings, leaving on the short end of a 3-1 game.

The Orioles ended up winning 7-6. Hernandez remained winless in his last 13 starts.

LINEUPS

STAT SHEET

• Shortstop Marco Scutaro was 6-for-14 with four runs scored in the Toronto series.
• Third baseman Adrian Beltre is 10-for-21 during a six-game hitting streak.
• Daniel Bard has struck out eight of the last nine men he has retired.

Orioles

• Right-hander Chris Tillman threw a nine-inning no-hitter Wednesday for Triple-A Norfolk.
• The O’s are the first team since 1969 to have their first four wins of the year saved by a different pitcher.
• Center fielder Adam Jones is 3-for-18 with no runs and no RBIs in his last four games.

BLACK AND BLUE

• Daisuke Matsuzaka is expected to be activated from the disabled list in advance of a start Saturday. In three rehab starts in the minors while recovering from a neck strain, the right-hander was 2-0 with a 1.62 ERA.
• A CT scan done on left fielder Jacoby Ellsbury revealed hairline fractures in four ribs. He was eligible to return from the 15-day disabled list Tuesday. Team officials said his treatment plan will not change and he will resume play only when his symptoms are gone. Ellsbury said Sunday that he feels about the same as he has for a week or so, and his baseball-related activities are “light”.
• Center fielder Mike Cameron was placed on the 15-day disabled list last last Tuesday with a sports hernia. His term is retroactive to April 19. Both he and Ellsbury traveled with the team to Toronto.

Orioles

• Right-hander Koji Uehara may come off the 15-day disabled list for the start of this series. He has been out with a hamstring strain.
• Second baseman Brian Roberts, already out with a back injury, has been battling flu-like symptoms and stomach pain. He is not close to returning.
• Closer Mike Gonzalez hopes to return in May from a strained left shoulder.

OUTLOOK

With a 10-game homestand on the horizon, the Sox have a great chance to get back into the mix in the American League East. It all starts Friday at “Fenway Park South.”