Boston Red Sox (0-1) at Texas Rangers (1-0)
Starting Pitchers: John Lackey (0-0) vs. Colby Lewis (0-0)
The defending American League champion Texas Rangers started off 2011 with some late inning heroics and a 9-5 win over the Boston Red Sox on Friday. Today, they'll try to earn their first series win of the young season as Colby Lewis takes the mound for the Rangers to face John Lackey of the Red Sox.
The Rangers beat the Red Sox on Opening Day, thanks to David Murphy's pinch hit two-run double which gave Texas a 7-5 lead in the eighth inning. Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton added RBI doubles as the Rangers went onto win 9-5. Ian Kinsler, Nelson Cruz and Mike Napoli all homered for the Rangers in the win.
Colby Lewis draws the start for Texas today, and he'll look to build on his success 2010 campaign. Lewis returned to the majors last year after pitching in Japan since 2008 and went 12-13 for the Rangers. His sub-.500 record was not a true indication of how well he pitched, though. Lewis struck out 196 batters in 201 innings while posting a 1.19 WHIP and a 3.72 ERA.
Lewis will be opposed by John Lackey, who is entering his second year as a member of the Red Sox. Lackey's first year a bit of a failure as he went 14-11 with a 4.40 ERA and 1.42 WHIP while only striking out 156 in 215 innings of work.