Weekend Preview: Red Sox @ Angels

Friday - J. Lackey (6-2, 2.46) vs C. Bluchholz (2-4, 5.70)

Last 10: Lackey won 5 starts in a row from June 6 to July 5, but he struggled in his last two starts, going 0-1 with an 8.49 ERA. He gave up 15 hits - the most by an AL starter this season - in 5 2-3 innings of Los Angeles’ 11-10 win at Texas last Thursday.

vs BOS: That's good news for the Sox, who have owned Lackey in the past, tagging him with a 1-6 record and a 6.27 ERA in 11 starts. The last time Lackey faced the Sox, he lost Game 1 of the ALDS, giving up four runs in six innings of the Angels’ 4-0 defeat.

Last 10: Buchholz will look to bounce back from a rough return to the bigs, in which the he gave up 5 hits, 5 walks and 4 earned runs to the O's in a 7-3 loss. Nerves may have played a part in that outing. After giving up 2 runs in the 1st, Bucky gave up just 1 hit through the next 3 frames, while fanning 5 of 10 batters faced.

vs LAA: Buchholz is 1-0 in his only start against the Angels - it happened to be his major league debut. Bucky gave up 8 hits, 4 runs and 3 walks in that outing, but the Sox won 8-4. It should also be noted that Clay is 0-3 with an 8.64 ERA on the road this season...

Who to Watch: Manny is batting .434 with 4 HRs and 11 RBI versus Lackey... JD Drew is 5-11 against Lackey and is batting .312 on the road this year... Kotchman went 3-3 with 2 doubles the last time he saw Buchholz... Vladdy leads his team in most offensive categories and is always a threat.

Saturday: J. Beckett (9-5, 3.94) vs. J. Saunders (12-5, 3.07)

Last 10: After winning his 8 of his first 9 decisions, Saunders is 6-4 in his last 10 but has only allowed 3+ runs in 3 of those 10 starts. He's only got 63 Ks on the season, but he's only given up 7+ hits 3 times this year. The Sox will need to be patient with him and work the walks.

vs BOS: Saunders is 3-0 with a 2.92 ERA in 4 starts versus Boston. Back in April he beat Masterson in his Sox debut, while giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks. But Saunders' ERA is more than a point higher at home this year (3.92/2.23) and batters are hitting .260 against him in LA, versus .214 on the road.

Last 10: Beckett won his last 2 starts heading into the break, but gave up 5 runs in the 18-5 shellacking the Sox gave the Twins. Beckett was looking good, going 7+ and fanning 18 in his last 3 starts in June, but he's given up 8 runs on 12 hits, while fanning just 6 so far this month.

vs LAA: Captain Kickass is 2-0 in 4 starts versus LA with a 2.16 ERA and a kickass .202 BAA. The last time the Angles saw Beckett he blanked them for a complete game, 4-0 victory in the ALDS. Beckett had 8 Ks, no walks and just 4 hits in that game.

Who to Watch: Coco is 4-12 (.333) with 4 doubles and 2 SBs off the lefty Saunders... while Ellsbury is 0-4... Nobody in an Angels uniform hits Beckett well. Example: Vladdy is 5 for 23 with 7 strikeouts.

Sunday: T. Wakfield (6-6, 3.60) vs J. Weaver (8-8, 4.03)

Last 10: After a rough start, Weaver has come around winning 6 of his last 10 starts while fanning 5 batters per game. Weaver finished the first half strong allowing just 4 earned runs over 24.2 innings (4 starts) and knocked his ERA down to 4.03 - the lowest it's been since April 16.

vs BOS: Jared of the flowing blonde locks has not faired well against the Red Sox. He's 0-2 with a 5.46 ERA in 5 chances and the last time he saw the Sox they knocked him around to the tune of 10 hits and 5 runs over 5 innings at Fenway.

Last 10: Tim Wakefield has been MR. bad luck as of late. Despite allowing 3 runs or less in 9 straight starts, he only notched 3 wins. He finally got some run supports in a 12-1 beat down of the O's back on the 12th, but if take out that game, as well at the 12-6 and 11-3 victories, the Sox are only scoring 4 RPG for Wake, while he gives them 7+ innings almost every time.

vs LAA: Wake is 9-11 versus LA and just 1-4 on the road this year. He hasn't seen the Angels since a 10-4 loss on August 7 of the last year, but in typical Wakfield fashion, he beat them 10-1 earlier that year... so this one's a toss-up.

Who to Watch: Youk hit a 2-run shot off Weaver back in April and is 5-15 (.333) with 2 homers in his career... Strangely, Valdimir and his wild swing own a .438 BA against Wake and that includes 4 homers and just3 strikeouts in 16 at-bats... fellow veteran Garret Anderson also hits the knuckleball well - .286, 5 HRs, 15 RBI in 63 ABs.

Bottom Line: This is a likely preview of the ALDS. The best match-up of the weekend is clearly on Saturday.

We win that one, we'll win the series.